Syftet med studien var att belysa skolsköterskors uppfattning om orsaker till elevers psykiska ohälsa samt vilka resurser skolsköterskor har för att bemöta psykisk ohälsa hos barn och ungdomar. Studien genomfördes som en intervjustudie med beskrivande design vid grundskolor i Mellansverige. Sex skolsköterskor valdes ut utifrån geografisk spridning och typ av skola (fristående eller kommunal) för en semistrukturerad intervju. Intervjuerna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom nio kategorier: Skolsköterskornas uppfattning var att de vanligaste orsakerna till barns psykiska ohälsa är relaterade till kategorierna hemförhållanden, neuropsykiatriska problem och inlärningssvårigheter hos barnen, brister i kontakten med BUP, prestationskrav att leva upp till, mobbing, konflikter och egna funderingar. Om skolsköterskornas resurser framkom kategorierna Skolsköterskan själv som resurs, Tid, Samarbetsgrupper och Ekonomi.

Slutsats: Skolsköterskorna upplevde att det fanns flera olika orsaker till barnens psykiska ohälsa där hemförhållandena var den främsta. Skolsköterskornas resurser var deras eget arbete med barnen, tid, ekonomi samt interna och externa resurser. Samarbetet med dessa grupper fungerade i stort sett bra men med vissa brister, t.ex. köer till BUP samt vissa svårigheter i samarbetet med socialtjänsten.

The purpose of this study was to illuminate the school nurses' perception of the causes of students' mental health and what resources school nurses have to address mental illness in children and adolescents. The study was conducted as an interview with descriptive design at elementary schools in central Sweden. Six nurses were selected based on geographical distribution and type of school (independent or municipal) for a semi-structured interview. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The results revealed nine categories: School nurse's view was that the most common causes of children's mental health is related to the categories of home conditions, neuropsychiatric problems and learning disabilities in children, lack of contact with Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, performance requirements to live up to, bullying, conflict and their own thoughts. About school nurses resources emerged categories; School nurse herself as a resource, Time, Cooperation and Economy.Conclusion: The school nurses felt that there were several reasons for children's mental illness where home conditions were the main. School nurse resources were their own work with children, time, finances and internal and external resources. Cooperation with these groups functioned essentially good but with some shortcomings, such as long waiting lists for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and some difficulties in cooperation with social services.