Global evidence indicates minimal connection between immigration and crime. Nordic research, however, has been generally carried out on individuals and shows that immigrants are over-represented in crime. This has led to claims that high crime rates are due to immigration. We directed our study towards these claims by analyzing immigrant population prevalence, defined as the percent of foreign-born individuals, and violent crime in Swedish municipalities between 2000 and 2020. Nearly all municipalities had higher violent crime rates in 2020 relative to 2000. To discern whether drastic increases in municipality-level crime rates could be connected to municipality-level immigrant population prevalence, a retrospective case-control design was used to select 20 municipalities with the highest increase in reported violent crime rates and 20 municipalities with the lowest increase in reported violent crime rates. Immigrant population prevalence had little association with high rates of reported violent crime. The average association between immigrant population prevalence and violent crime rates calculated from all municipalities was also weak and non-significant (p > 0.05). Municipalities with a high increase in crime tended to have more crime correlates than municipalities with a low increase in crime. However, more research is needed on the impact of migration in small towns, especially those that have experienced economic and social stagnation.

Background: Stable housing is important for overall health and well-being among young people, and poor-quality housing can trigger multiple diseases, including infections, injuries, chronic diseases, and psychological problems. However, many young people in Sweden struggle with an unstable housing situation. It is therefore important to illuminate how health, social, and civic society professionals and volunteers see the overall health situation for young people (16–27 years) in unstable housing situations.

Method: Sixteen health, social, and civic society professionals and volunteers, from both municipal and governmental organizations and civic society, were interviewed during 2024 and were reached through convenience and purposive sampling. The data was analyzed with content analysis.

Results: The results showed that the professionals and volunteers considered that there is a lack of basic necessities, such as food and clothes and often also a place to sleep, among young people in unstable housing situations. They also recounted that the bodies of those young people are weakened as a result of the unstable situation, with its stress and lack of proper care. There are, however, challenges with regard to accessing healthcare and the young people in question are often hesitant to seek care, and inclined to avoid it. Furthermore, the participants mentioned psychosocial challenges, due to loneliness and lack of close contacts with family and friends, and said that people struggling with homelessness tend to suffer from mental illness.

Conclusion: Young people in unstable housing situations need support to stabilize them for the future, and in order to work toward a more stable housing situation for these people in the county of Scania, a holistic approach is necessary. This is crucial in view of their overall health, as well as their well-being and life satisfaction.

This study explores how police officers and civilian investigators in Sweden describe their knowledge and experiences of handling sexual crimes involving people with intellectual disabilities—a group disproportionately affected by such crimes and often marginalized in justice processes. A thematic analysis was conducted based on qualitative research interviews with 12 informants, and analyzed through the lens of intersectional disability theory. The study identified three central themes: a) gut feeling as a tool, b) particularly underreported sexual crimes, and c) cooperation as a strategy. The findings show how institutional practices may reproduce or challenge legal marginalization and highlight gaps in competences, routines, and coordination. The study concludes that a disability-informed and intersectional approach within the justice system is needed to ensure equitable treatment, improve support, and uphold the legal rights of people with intellectual disability.

This study explores experiences of and refections on sexual harassment in academiaamong students and doctoral students from Belgium, Croatia, Germany, and Sweden. Prevalence studies show that sexual harassment is a common occurrence andhas negative consequences not only on mental health in general but also on academic performance. However, little is known about what kinds of support and prevention are needed. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to develop in-depthknowledge about students’ and doctoral students’ refections on how victims of sexual harassment in academia should be supported, and how sexual harassment in academia could be prevented. To achieve this aim, 54 individual interviews, and 6 focusgroup interviews with 18 participants, were conducted between 2020 and 2022 witha total of 72 participants at the bachelors, masters, doctoral level or state exam level.Based on a thematic analysis three themes emerged: (a) Information on sexual harassment, (b) Prerequisites for reporting and intervening, and (c) Support as a preventive activity. The results show an urgent need for information, since this is perceivedas lacking by students and doctoral students, and suggested strategies for information provision are presented. Further, there are challenges related to reporting, andignorance about how to intervene when sexual harassment is witnessed. Professionalsupport is described as important, along with support from peers, mentors, family,and friends. These fndings are relevant for researchers and for clinicians at university student health centres, to develop relevant preventive and supportive interventions in the context of academia.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of performance- and image-enhancing substances (PIES) use, and factors related to this, among a representative sample of the general Swedish population aged 16–25. We used a quantitative cross-sectional self-report design to examine prevalence and possible relationships between PIES use and socio-demographics, physical activity, attitudes towards muscle building and doping, friends’ use, body image, and body modification. Approximately 12% of the respondents reported that they used or had used PIES. A logistic regression analysis pointed out the importance of the social context – friends who used PIES, how body image affected social life, and how others viewed one's body – as more important factors for using PIES than attitudes towards muscle building and doping. Taken together, these results indicate a need to pay attention to the use of PIES among young people as a potential public health problem.

Since the beginning of the twenty first century, there has been an intensified political debate about drugs in Russia. The drug problem is now regarded as one of the country’s most serious problems and as an issue of top priority for the Russian government. Objectives: The aim of this qualitative study is to explore how illegal drugs are discussed in Russian political discourse. Methods: The material includes an analysis of 177 speeches made in the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Russian State Duma, between 2014 and 2018. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis (CDA). Results: In general, the study found that the debate about the drug problem was characterized by consensus, and there were small differences between the Deputy members in their understanding of the problem. Three main understandings of the drug problem were identified: (1) Illegal drugs as an increasing problem in Russia, (2) Drugs as an external threat, and (3) A need for a more repressive drug policy. Conclusion: There was a general consensus about how the drug problem should be regarded among the politicians, with a focus on a war on drugs and an absence of harm reduction ideas. 

This register-based study from Sweden examines mortality risks among young male victims of violence. In total, 87,22 l men aged 18-24 years who spent at least one night in inpatient care after exposure to violence in the years 1992-2005 were compared with 78,702 age-matched men from the general population. Cox regressions showed that men exposed to violence had a >3 times higher risk of all-cause mortality, a >4 times higher risk of suicide, and about a 20 times higher risk of death from later violence. The risk of suicide remained stable during the follow-up, and the risk of all-cause mortality and death from later violence decreased.

This design case describes the creation and implementation of a 4-week, online, and collaborative learning experience between criminology students and faculty at two universities: one in the United States and one in Sweden. Both universities have a diverse student body that includes first-generation college students and underrepresented students. The collaboration gave students an opportunity to explore criminology in an authentic global context and harness similar benefits to a study abroad program without the financial burden. The project was grounded in instructional design theories of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and best practices for cross-cultural team collaboration. The design involved the creation of an engaging learning environment where learners worked together to accomplish a shared goal and co-create knowledge. The design offered students a unique learning experience that broadened their understanding of criminology theories in two distinct national contexts. We present the case through design decisions, implementation outcomes, a rich description of the context, and a holistic reflective view from the designer, faculty, and learner perspectives.

Fires in school buildings are a major problem in Sweden. However, there is lack of research about juveniles’ attitudes to this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to investigate how high school students in Sweden discussed arson and firesetting. Semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews were conducted with 32 high school students (aged 14–15). It was found that although most students argued that playing with fire were common phenomena in their schools, deliberate firesetting was said to be less common. In contrast to previous research the students in this study argued that both girls and boys were equally involved in firesetting and fire play. There was a consensus that arson was a serious problem and a problem that should be prevented.