New technologies have previously been used to deliver alcohol interventions to university students. In this study automated interventions delivered by Interactive Voice Response (IVR) are compared to automated interventions delivered over the Internet (WEB). A total of 2 825 Swedish university students responded to a web-survey assessing risky alcohol consumption using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). A total of 1 423 (50%) had a risky alcohol consumption and were randomized to one out of four different intervention conditions: a single IVR or WEB intervention given one week after baseline, a repeated IVR or WEB intervention given one and two weeks after intervention, or to an untreated control group. Each intervention was really short including less than 500 words, giving a brief feedback on the baseline assessment and instructions on how obtain a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) below 0,06 percentage. Follow-up of intervention results were assessed six weeks after the baseline assessment. At follow- up all intervention groups had significantly reduced their AUDIT scores in comparison to the control group. The reduction in AUDIT scores did not differ between IVR and WEB interventions, and there was no difference between single and repeated interventions. This study indicates that IVR and WEB interventions are equally effective in delivering brief alcohol interventions to university students, and that there is no additional effect by repeating the intervention.

New technologies have previously been used to deliver alcohol interventions to university students. In this study automated interventions delivered by Interactive Voice Response (IVR) are compared to automated interventions delivered over the Internet (WEB). A total of 2 825 Swedish university students responded to a web-survey assessing risky alcohol consumption using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). A total of 1 423 (50%) had a risky alcohol consumption and were randomized to one out of four different intervention conditions: a single IVR or WEB intervention given one week after baseline; a repeated IVR or WEB intervention given one and two weeks after intervention, or to an untreated control group. Each intervention was really short including less than 500 words, giving a brief feedback on the baseline assessment and instructions on how obtain a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) below 0,06 percentage. Follow-up of intervention results were assessed six weeks after the baseline assessment. At follow-up all intervention groups had significantly reduced their AUDIT scores in comparison to the control group. The reduction in AUDIT scores did not differ between IVR and WEB interventions, and there was no difference between single and repeated interventions. This study indicates that IVR and WEB interventions are equally effective in delivering brief alcohol interventions to university students, and that there is no additional effect by repeating the intervention.

This study evaluated automated techniques including personalized normative feedback and protective behavioral strategies, for brief interventions intended to reduce peak alcohol concentrations in university students. After completing baseline assessment, a total of 1,678 hazardous-drinking consumers were randomized to a single or a repeated Internet (WEB) or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) intervention, or to a control group (Single WEB: 323; Single IVR: 329; Repeated WEB: 318; Repeated IVR: 334; Control group: 374). At follow-up, six weeks after baseline, questionnaires were returned by 1,422 participants (Single WEB: 277; Single IVR: 286; Repeated WEB: 259; Repeated IVR: 279; Control group: 321). It was found that peak estimated BAC was reduced in the total group (b -0.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.023; -0.005), in the total (b -0.17, 95% CI -0.027; -0.007) and single (b -0.021, 95% CI -0.032; -0.011) WEB group, and in the total (b -0.011, 95% CI -0.021; -0.015) and repeated (b -0.012, 95% CI -0.023; -0.000) IVR groups, compared to controls. The reduction in peak estimated BAC was greater in the single WEB group compared to the single IVR group (b -0.011, 95% CI -0.022; -0.000). This study concluded that both WEB and IVR interventions have a small but significant effect in reducing heavy episodic drinking, which may be due to the relatively large sample size. Repeated intervention may be needed if delivered by IVR.

Konsultationsteamet är en verksamhet i Malmö vars syfte är att ge stöd till personer som vill lämna ett kriminellt liv och/eller gängtillhörighet och/eller som lever under allvarliga hot. De individer vars ärenden aktualiseras har antingen inte polisanmälts eller avser ärenden där en tidigare polisanmälan är nedlagd. I aktuell utvärdering ges en beskrivning av verksamhetens uppkomst, utveckling och innehåll. Utifrån tillgänglig dokumentation analyseras verksamhetens resultat och som sedan relateras till verksamhetens mål. Som del av utvärderingen har en Workshop genomförts för att formulera syfte och mål för Konsultationsteamet, identifiera kritiska faktorer för resultat samt att skapa en åtgärdslista för att komma vidare i konkret målarbete. Avslutningsvis föreslås en modell för hur verksamheten ska utvärderas i framtiden. Utvärderingens resultat visar att av de individer som Konsultationsteamet har haft kontakt med sedan verksamhetens start och fram till och med 2014 har drygt 60 % inte erhållit en ny påföljd samt att 56 % varken förekommer i polisens påföljds- eller misstankeregister. Viktiga resultat är även att Konsultationsteamet har skapat en åtgärdslista för att komma vidare i konkret målarbete samt att ett konkret förslag för systematisk och kontinuerlig uppföljning har utvecklats. Utvärderingens slutsats är att Konsultationsteamet bedriver och kontinuerligt utvecklar en viktig verksamhet och som genererar ett relativt bra resultat, samt att föreliggande dokumentation sannolikt har betydelse för såväl Konsultationsteamet eget utvecklingsarbete som för det nationella utvecklingsarbete som genomförs på området.

Trots att vi vet att problematiskt spelbeteende ofta utvecklas ofta i yngre vuxenålder, saknas kunskap om faktorer som i åldersgruppen predicerar spelproblem och spelberoende.

This observational study sought to improve our understanding of factors that contribute to risky sexual behavior among women seeking treatment for alcohol and other substance use disorders. Women were recruited at the start of outpatient (n=236) or inpatient (n=166) treatment. At intake, a Timeline Follow-back interview was used to obtain retrospective reports of daily drinking, drug use, and sexual behavior for a 90-day pre-treatment baseline period. Additional interview and questionnaire measures also were obtained. Measures were re- administered at four 90-day follow-up interviews. Among women who reported sex with a primary partner during baseline (n=261), 15% reported consistent condom use for all events with this partner, whereas 80% reported no condom use with this partner. Among women who reported sex with a non-primary partner (n=159; doesn’t include commercial sex trading), 26% reported consistent condom use and 45% reported no condom use with such partners. Significant correlates of non-use of condoms included negative beliefs and attitudes and low self-efficacy regarding condom use and AIDS prevention, as well as psychological distress, sexual impulsiveness and sensation seeking, history of severe assault by a male partner, and (with primary partners) negative partner attitudes toward condom use. Some of these correlates also predicted unprotected sex with a primary partner during the first 90 days after treatment entry, after controlling for baseline. However, unsafe sex with a non-primary partner during follow-up was most notably associated with follow-up levels of substance use, i.e., more drinks per drinking day and greater frequency of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use. In sum, preliminary analyses of baseline and follow-up data indicate a high prevalence of unprotected sex in this population. Identification of factors related to baseline and follow-up levels of risky behavior may suggest targets for future intervention development.

Systematic evaluation of child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient treatment is important but time-consuming. The aim of this paper was to study whether Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a more effective method than a questionnaire sent by post when following up outpatient treatment in child and adolescent psychiatry. Eighty patients were recruited from a child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient unit in Sweden. One parent of each of the patients was randomized to complete the BCFPI follow-up form, using either IVR (n = 40) or postal survey (n = 40) one month after discharge. The response rate for complete answers was 65% in the IVR group and 38% in the postal survey group (p = 0.014). There was less need for reminders in the IVR group (p = 0.000). IVR is a promising and cost-effective method for evaluating evidence-based treatment in child and adolescent psychiatric care.

Objective The primary objective was to evaluate 6-month outcomes for brief and extensive automated telephony interventions targeting problematic alcohol use, in comparison to an assessment-only control group. The secondary objective was to compare levels of problematic alcohol use (hazardous, harmful or probable dependence), gender and age among study participants from clinical psychiatric and addiction outpatient settings and from population-based telephone helpline users and Internet help-seeker samples. Results The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used for screening of problematic alcohol use and 6-month follow-up assessment. A total of 248 of help-seekers with at least hazardous use (AUDIT scores of ≥ 6/≥ 8 for women/men) were recruited from clinical and general population settings. Minor recruitment group differences were identified with respect to AUDIT scores and age at baseline. One hundred and sixty persons (64.5%) did not complete the follow-up assessment. The attrition group had a higher proportion of probable dependence (71% vs. 56%; p = 0.025), and higher scores on the total AUDIT, and its subscales for alcohol consumption and alcohol problems. At follow up, within-group problem levels had declined across all three groups, but there were no significant between-group differences. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01958359, Registered October 9, 2013. Retrospectively registered

The objective of this research was to study whether automated telephony could be used in paroled offenders to perform daily assessment of variables associated with recidivismin crime, and whether there are grounds for studying the effects of a brief intervention based on these assessments during 30 days following probation. The design included a randomized controlled trial using automated daily assessments and feedback interventions based on Interactive Voice Response (IVR). Participants included paroled offenders (N = 108) during their first 30 days after leaving prison. All subjects were called daily and answered assessment questions. Based on the content of their daily assessments, the subjects in the intervention group received immediate feedback and a recommendation by IVR, and their probation officers also received a daily report by email. Main outcomemeasures (assessed daily) included Stress (Arnetz and Hasson Stress Questionnaire and a revised version of Daily Assessment of Daily Experience), Mood (SCL-8D measuring depression and anxiety), and Use and Urge to Use Alcohol and Drugs (revised version of the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire). Participants were also asked to rate the severity of their most stressful event that day. The outcome variables were analyzed using linear mixed models, presented as group differences between means, 95%CI. Results indicated that the intervention group showed greater improvement than the control group in stress (9.6, 0.5; 18.7, p = 0.038), depression/anxiety (4.6, 0.2; 9.0, p = 0.042), alcohol use (0.8, 0.1; 1.4, p = 0.031), drug use (1.0, 0.5; 1.6, p = 0.000), and in the severity of themost stressful daily event (1.9, 1.1; 2.7, p = 0.000). There were no differences between the groups in the Stress scale and in craving for alcohol and drugs. Overall, the research suggests that in paroled offenders, automated telephony is an effective technology thatmay be used to follow up and to give interventions, resulting in reduced stress and drug use.

Substance use disorders and problematic substance use are common problems in adolescence and young adulthood. Brief personalized feedback has been suggested for treatment of alcohol and drug problems and poor mental health. This repeated measurement randomized controlled trial examines the effect of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for assessing stress, depression, anxiety and substance use. The IVR system was used twice weekly over three months after treatment initiation, with or without addition of a personalized feedback intervention on stress and mental health symptoms. Both IVR assessment only (control group) and IVR assessment including feedback (intervention group) were provided as an add-on to treatment-as-usual procedures (TAU) in outpatient treatment of substance use problems in adolescents and young adults (N=73). By using a mixed models approach, differences in change scores were analyzed over the three-month assessment period. Compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in the Arnetz and Hasson stress score (AHSS, p=0.019), the total Symptoms Checklist 8 score (SCL-8D, p=0.037), the SCL-8D anxiety sub-score (p=0.017), and on a summarized feedback score (p=0.026), but not on the depression subscale. There were no differences in global substance use scores between the intervention group (feedback on mental health symptoms) and the control group. In conclusion, IVR may be useful for follow-up and repeated interventions as an add-on to regular treatment, and personalized feedback could potentially improve mental health in adolescents and young adults with problematic substance use.

The studies included in the thesis illustrate the patterning of female offending over the life course. The overarching aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the female offender and of the heterogeneity in female criminal offending trajectories over the life course, and also of factors that differentiate between these trajectories. In order to extend the knowledge on individual predictors of female offending, the thesis analyses the correlations between offending and measures of crime propensity. Study I analyses sex differences in criminal career patterns using a group-based trajectory method. The overall conclusion is that the females in the study were much less predisposed to offend than the males, but when they did, they tended to follow a similar set of career trajectories. Four offending trajectories were identified for each sex, two sex-invariant and two sex-unique. Among both females and males, a group of Low Rate Desisters (LRD) and a group of High Level Chronics (HLC) were identified, which correspond with the groups commonly identified in earlier research focused on various cohorts. In addition, every sixth female offender was characterized as an Early Onset Desister (EOD). The offending pattern of this group was characterized by a very early onset of criminality, followed by almost no offending at all in the subsequent age categories. The second of the two female-unique patterns was denoted Adult Onset (AO). The offending pattern of this group was characterized by a late onset in crime followed by a high level of criminal activity over subsequent years. Studies II and III explore the within- and between-individual patterning of the different female offending trajectories identified in the Study I. Individual and social characteristics were investigated, along with the question of how such factors change and shape patterns of criminal involvement. Research has consistently shown that childhood risk factors appear to be important for distinguishing chronic from adolescent-limited offenders. Based on the data available to this thesis, the analyses confirm that this baseline assumption appears also to apply to females. The analyses show that it is possible on the basis of variables measuring different aspects of socio-demographic background and family functioning to separate offenders from non-offenders, and chronics from less severe offenders. Study III examines the AO group in more detail. Predictors in childhood and adolescence that are known to be related to chronic offending all produced significant effects in relation to memberships of the AO group. In addition, variables related to working class background, such as father’s occupation and coming from a family that had received social welfare payments during childhood, a low level of educational achievement and unemployment in adulthood, all seem to be related to the AO trajectory and indicate a need for further research. Studies I-III had provided indications of sex differences not only in criminal patterning but also in risk factors and life events and transitions. In Study IV, the aim was to try to identify and evaluate whether and how self-control and morality affect criminal activity for females and males respectively. Results from a split sample analysis showed that self-control was the strongest independent predictor for both sexes; further, self-control did not help explain the gender gap in offending. Overall, different aspects of morality also seemed to be powerful predictors of offending for both sexes. As regards the explanation of sex differences in offending, the impact of anticipated guilt appeared to be most important. No interaction effects were found between self-control and morality.

Background Despite the increased interest in female offending trajectories over the last decades, knowledge is still limited. Aim To meet the need for more knowledge on female offending trajectories by studying sex differences in criminal career patterns. Method Data on 518 female and 2567 male offenders up to age 30 from the Swedish longitudinal Project Metropolitan study were analysed using latent class analysis. Results The female offenders were much less predisposed to offend than the males, but when they did, they tended to follow a similar set of trajectories to males in their criminal development over time. Four criminal career patterns were identified for each sex. Two patterns were the same between the sexes, and two were gender unique. All career patterns had meaningful and distinct associations with crime characteristics. Conclusions Our study presents indicators relating both to gender differences and to heterogeneity within the group of female offenders. One important finding was the identification of an adult-onset offender group unique to females. This group was characterised by high criminal activity over the years following their late onset. Further research will focus on the childhood origins, pathways and outcomes of different female antisocial and criminal careers.

This chapter explores the female patterning of crime and factors that differentiate between these patterns. The theoretical frame considers the developmental course of criminality and some common developmental pathways or trajectories. This perspective is concerned with identifying factors across people’s lives that account for both stability and change in antisocial behavior and crime. The family, school, and peer groups, expressed in social bonds and social networks, are the dominant sources of social control during childhood and adolescence and although childhood oppositional behavior tends to attenuate these important sources of social control, this is not invariably the case. The chapter has a special focus on a female pattern of crime that has not previously been given so much attention in research, namely an adulthood-onset trajectory. The overall aim is to contribute to a better understanding of factors that contribute to the development of different criminal careers among females by studying individual and social characteristics and how such factors interact to change and shape criminal involvement over two critical developmental phases: early adolescence and the transition into young adulthood for a cohort of Swedish girls.

Denna rapport är den första i ett samarbetsprojekt mellan polismyndigheten i Skåne och Malmö Högskola/Hälsa & Samhälle. Projektets övergripande syfte är att fördjupa kunskapen om brottslighet och otrygghet i lokalområden och på så vis effektivisera det brottsförebyggande och trygghetsskapande arbetet i de sammanhang där polisen är enskild aktör och i samverkan med andra organisationer. Samarbetsprojektet innehåller både forskning, tillämpning av forskning i polisiär verksamhet och föreläsningsserier. Förhoppningsvis ska projektet bidra till att höja kunskapsnivån kring brottspreventiva frågor inom polismyndigheten i Skåne. I forskningspropositionen 2004/05:80 framhålls att en väl utvecklad kriminalvetenskaplig forskning är en förutsättning för en kunskapsbaserad kriminalpolitik. Det framhålls också att det finns ett stort behov av relevant forskningsbaserad kunskap inom rättsväsendets två största myndighetssfärer: polisen och kriminalvården, samt att beställare- och mottagarkompetensen hos myndigheterna måste öka. Vår förhoppning är att detta samarbetsprojekt ska komma att fylla en del av detta kunskapsbehov.

Denna rapport är den fjärde i ett samarbetsprojekt mellan polismyndigheten i Skåne och Malmö Högskola/Hälsa och Samhälle. Projektets övergripande syfte är att fördjupa kunskapen om brottslighet och otrygghet i lokalområden. Med hjälp av den fördjupade kunskapen ska det brottsförebyggande och trygghets¬skapande arbetet effektiviseras, både i de sammanhang där polisen är enskild aktör och i samverkan med andra organisationer. Ett ledord för dagens polisarbete är att det ska vara evidensbaserat. Att arbeta evidensbaserat innebär att tidigare förvärvad kunskap om vad som fungerar bra respektive mindre bra tas tillvara. Viktiga instrument som underlag för detta är uppföljning och utvärdering. I föreliggande rapport presenteras en processutvärdering av projektet Trygga gatan, ett projekt som bedrevs i polisområde Malmö mellan den 27 april och 30 september 2007. I rapporten presenteras en målanalys, en mål/medelanalys samt en genomförandeanalys. Genomgående i rapporten presenterar författarna rekommendationer inför kommande projekt av den här karaktären. Utvärderingsrapporten riktar sig i första hand till verksamma inom Polismyndigheten med förhoppningen att kunna användas som kunskapsunderlag vid utformandet av nya projekt.

”Kan man lita på att brottsstatistiken ger en korrekt bild av den faktiska brottsligheten?” Denna fråga är mycket omdiskuterad och svaret är allt annat än enkelt. Det råder dock konsensus kring att tillförlitligheten varierar beroende på vilken brottstyp som studeras, samt att man måste använda sig av kompletterande källor för att få en mer korrekt bild av verkligheten. Vid bland annat Polismyndigheten i Skåne har sedan ett antal år tillbaka Trygghetsmätningen varit en sådan kompletterande källa. Avseende våldsbrottslighetens utveckling i Skåne uppstod i början av året ett dilemma då den officiella statistiken visade en uppgång, medan resultaten från polisens årliga trygghetsmätning istället visade en konstant nivå av utsatthet för brott. Frågan blir då vilken källa man skall lita på (och i vilken utsträckning)? Med anledning av detta har föreliggande underlag arbetats fram. Resonemanget som följer baseras på tidigare forskning och debatt inom området, och syftar till att ge en lägesbeskrivning av den kunskap som finns idag. Underlaget har tidigare under året diskuterats i olika forum inom polismyndigheten, och ska genom denna tryckta version kunna användas även vid polisens fortsatta interna diskussioner, samt som stöd vid kontakt med media.

In criminal career research, the existence of an adult onset trajectory has been identified more or less regularly over recent decades, providing indications of the existence of a group of serious offenders that resembles the early onset chronic offenders. The aim of this study is to further explore the origins and development of the adult onset females with regard to familial and social predictors and life events. Results are based on the Project Metropolitan data for 7,398 girls up to age 30 using logistic regression. The adult onset group showed a markedly higher prevalence of all covariates when compared with non-offenders and they are largely similar to the high level chronics. A logistic regression model including 11 covariates identified only two predictors on which the adult onsetters could be separated from the high level chronics. The authors conclude that there is support for the actual existence of the adult onset group, and that the group is difficult to separate from the high level chronics on the basis of structural factors. Using additional variables, including individual factors, further research should focus on answering the question of how the delayed onset of this group might be explained.

The causes of criminal behaviour advocated by criminological theory have always been dependent on the definition of crime. The causal mechanisms assigned to criminal behaviour among these various perspectives differs due to their ontological positions; the causal order suggested by those who have defined crime as norm-breaking behaviour will naturally be of a different kind in comparison to those who suggest that crime is norm-conforming. Consequently, the potential explanatory capacity of traditional criminological theory with regard to the phenomenon of hate crime will depend upon the ontological position taken, consciously or unconsciously, in order to understand hate crime. Three different ontological positions within hate crime studies will be presented and used as a ground for discussing the applicability of classical criminological on hate crime.

The present study examines experiences of hate crimes with multiple motives with a focus on policy and theory-related issues. The authors found that every fifth hate crime victim reports having experiences of multiple motives. These victims are more likely to report their victimization to the police in comparison to victims of hate crimes with single motives. The results also show that belonging to several socially vulnerable groups does not correlate with higher levels of repeat victimization. This is in contrast with intersectional theory as it would predict heightened levels of victimization among such individuals. Lastly, the results show that individuals who belong to more than one socially vulnerable group are more likely to experience hate crimes with multiple motives. Implications for policy and intersectional theory are discussed.

The tendency to report hate crime victimization There are indicators suggesting that the tendency to report hate crime victimization to the police is lower in comparison to crimes without such a motive. There are also reasons to believe that victims of hate crime base their cost-benefit analysis of whether to report on a unique set of factors that differ from other crime types. The present study compares report rates for hate crimes and crimes without a bias-motive among Swedish university students. Reasons from refraining from reporting are also examined though a thematic analysis. The results show that victims of hate crime report their victimization to a significantly lower extent than other victims. Those who refrain from reporting trivialize and normalize their experiences, find alternative solutions to handle their victimization, and/or have a low trust in the police.

The present article examines the impact of racist and xenophobic victimisation among students with a minority and/or immigrant background in a Swedish context. We examine if racist and/or xenophobic victimisation result in 1) behavioral strategies applied to reduce victimisation risk, 2) a heightened level of fear and 3) if the motive in itself has an independent effect on the level of fear among victims. The study design combines survey data with interviews. The findings suggest that experiences of racist and/or xenophobic victimisation lead to higher levels of fear and that the motive in itself influences this relationship independently. We also found that certain behavioural strategies are developed in order to avoid victimisation.

I den här rapporten presenteras den första större kartläggningen av utsatthet och upplevelser av hatbrott bland studenter i Sverige. Undersökningen har genomförts inom projektet Utsatthet och upplevelser av hatbrott. Under 2013/14 genomfördes en enkätundersökning bland studenter vid Malmö högskola. Ungefär var femte av de nästan 3000 studenter som besvarade enkäten har någon gång utsatts för brott med koppling till sin bakgrund, religion, sexualitet, funktionsnedsättning, kön eller könsidentitet. Själva händelsen är ofta i fokus för diskussioner om hatbrott. Detta gäller diskussionen i media såväl som i offentlig statistik. Men själva händelsen utgör inte ensam fenomenet hatbrott. I rapporten läggs även fokus på det som händer efter händelsen; hur individen påverkas, bearbetar upplevelsen och hanterar den genom att anmäla, eller söka hjälp och stöd.

En viktig del av vårt välfärdssystem är möjlighet till ekonomisk trygghet samt stöd och hjälp vid sjukdom, skador och funktionsnedsättning. Socialförsäkringen, som regleras i socialförsäkringsbalken, omfattar en mängd olika bidrag och förmåner till stöd och hjälp i livets olika skeden. Syftet med denna bok är att belysa reglerna för dessa förmåner och bidrag. Boken inleds med en historik kring socialförsäkringen. Därefter behandlas villkoren för att omfattas av socialförsäkringen samt regler för länder inom och utom EU och EES. Vid sjukdom och skada behandlas rätten till ekonomisk ersättning, rehabilitering och sjukersättning/aktivitetsersättning samt arbetsskadeförsäkring och livränta. För den som har funktionsnedsättning redogörs för möjlighet till handikappersättning, vårdbidrag, assistansersättning samt bilstöd. Avslutningsvis behandlas regler kring handläggning av socialförsäkringsärenden.

Med hänvisning till CANs skolundersökningar kan det konstateras att användande av narkotika och cannabis generellt har ökat från 1989 till 2013. Denna ökning gäller alla regioner i Sverige och oavsett var i landet man bor så följs upp- och nedgångar i drogvanorna i stor del åt. Under åren 2012–2014 användes mest cannabis i Stockholm och Malmö och minst i Glesbygden. Det förelåg inte skillnader mellan cannabisanvändande och betyg eller föräldrarnas utbildningsnivå. Resultat från den europeiska ESPAD-skolstudien visade en ökning av cannabisanvändande fram till 2003 med något lägre nivåer 2007 och 2011. Cannabisanvändandet i Sverige var lägre eller mycket lägre än i de flesta andra länder. När det gäller primärprevention av cannabisanvändande har en nyligen publicerad systematisk litteraturgenomgång av tillgänglig forskning dragit slutsatsen att många men inte alla studier har signifikant positiva effekter, men att effektstorlekarna är i regel små eller triviala. Högst effektstorlek återfinns i generella multimodala program riktade till gruppen 10–13 år, som inte leds av ungdomarnas ordinarie lärare, och som innehåller högst 10 sessioner samt en s k boostersession för att förstärka effekten. För behandling av missbruk eller beroende av cannabis rekommenderar Socialstyrelsen att hälso- och sjukvården samt socialtjänsten ska erbjuda kognitiv beteendeterapi (KBT) eller återfallsprevention med tillägg av motiverande samtal eller Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) som är en särskild kombination av bedömning, återkoppling och motivationshöjande samtal. När det gäller den legalisering av cannabis som genomförts i USA sammanfattas dels ett kritiskt ställningstagande inklusive därpå nödvändiga rekommendationer som har publicerats av American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) och som är den ledande vetenskapliga organisationen för barnläkare i USA. Avslutningsvis presenteras en nyligen presenterad analys från en svensk-amerikansk studie som studerat effekter av legalisering av cannabis i delstaten Washington och som visar att tillgängligheten inte har förändrats men att det finns en tendens (p=0,08) till ökad konsumtion av cannabis till följd av legaliseringen samt att pojkar anser att kontinuerligt användande av cannabis till följd av legaliseringen innebär mindre risk.

Med hänvisning till CANs skolundersökningar kan det konstateras att användande av narkotika och cannabis generellt har ökat från 1989 till 2013. Denna ökning gäller alla regioner i Sverige och oavsett var i landet man bor så följs upp- och nedgångar i drogvanorna i stor del åt. Under åren 2012–2014 användes mest cannabis i Stockholm och Malmö och minst i Glesbygden. Det förelåg inte skillnader mellan cannabisanvändande och betyg eller föräldrarnas utbildningsnivå. Resultat från den europeiska ESPAD-skolstudien visade en ökning av cannabisanvändande fram till 2003 med något lägre nivåer 2007 och 2011. Cannabisanvändandet i Sverige var lägre eller mycket lägre än i de flesta andra länder. När det gäller primärprevention av cannabisanvändande har en nyligen publicerad systematisk litteraturgenomgång av tillgänglig forskning dragit slutsatsen att många men inte alla studier har signifikant positiva effekter, men att effektstorlekarna är i regel små eller triviala. Högst effektstorlek återfinns i generella multimodala program riktade till gruppen 10–13 år, som inte leds av ungdomarnas ordinarie lärare, och som innehåller högst 10 sessioner samt en s k boostersession för att förstärka effekten. För behandling av missbruk eller beroende av cannabis rekommenderar Socialstyrelsen att hälso- och sjukvården samt socialtjänsten ska erbjuda kognitiv beteendeterapi (KBT) eller återfallsprevention med tillägg av motiverande samtal eller Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) som är en särskild kombination av bedömning, återkoppling och motivationshöjande samtal. När det gäller den legalisering av cannabis som genomförts i USA sammanfattas dels ett kritiskt ställningstagande inklusive därpå nödvändiga rekommendationer som har publicerats av American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) och som är den ledande vetenskapliga organisationen för barnläkare i USA. Avslutningsvis presenteras en nyligen presenterad analys från en svensk-amerikansk studie som studerat effekter av legalisering av cannabis i delstaten Washington och som visar att tillgängligheten inte har förändrats men att det finns en tendens (p=0,08) till ökad konsumtion av cannabis till följd av legaliseringen samt att pojkar anser att kontinuerligt användande av cannabis till följd av legaliseringen innebär mindre risk.

The present study includes baseline data from 2867 students (77.8% from Sweden, 22.2% from US) and evaluates the relationships among self-reported disabilities, alcohol use, other substance use, and psychosocial adjustment. There were 114 (4.6%) ‘‘hard-of-hearing’’ (HH) students, 129 (5.2%) reported visual disabilities, 33 (1.3%) reported motor disabilities, 223 (9.0%) reported a reading/writing disability, and 97 (3.6%) reported they had ‘‘other’’ disabilities. Of these, 70 (14.1%) reported more than one disability. Presence of a disability was significantly higher among Sweden students (2 (1)=19.93, p< 0.001), with 19.1% of Sweden students and 11.5% of US students reporting at least one disability. Reporting any type of disability was associated with significantly greater alcohol use frequency, intensity, and related problems (all p < 0.02), significantly more mental health symptoms and conduct problems (p < 0.005), and significantly greater likelihood of illicit and prescription drug use (all p < 0.001). With respect to specific disabilities, individuals with motor disabilities reported the highest levels of alcohol use and mental health symptoms, whereas individuals who reported ‘‘other’’ disabilities had higher rates of illicit drug use and conduct problems. Further, there was a significantly positive correlation between the number of disabilities and intensity of alcohol use, mental health symptoms, conduct problems, illicit and prescription drug use, and alcohol related problems (all p < 0.001). The association between conduct problems and disability (any disability and number of disabilities) was moderated by country of origin, gender, and drinking for coping reasons on the Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Participants in Sweden, males, and those who drank for coping reasons were more likely to report a relationship between disability and conduct problems (p < 0.001). Participants who drank for coping reasons were also more likely to report a relationship between disability and alcohol related problems (p=0.001). These findings indicate students with disabilities are an important risk group for preventive interventions for alcohol, substance, and mental health problems, and may benefit from interventions which target healthy coping skills. This research was supported by NIAAA # 5R01AA018276 awarded to Drs. Larimer & Berglund

Aims: Perceived risk is related to use of cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco among youth. Sweden and US have different policies and customs related to these substances thatmay influence both risk perception and behavior regarding use of these substances. Differences in perceived risk of cannabis, cigarettes, chewing tobacco and alcohol in Sweden and the US have been reported but no direct systematic comparison has been performed. Design and setting: The ATLAS Project is a long-term longitudinal study comparing the development of substance use from high school to the young adult life period (18–23 years) in the US and Sweden. Participants: Baseline data for 3352 17–19 year-old high school students (65%from Sweden, 56% women, mean age 17.8, 35%from US 58%women,mean age 17.6). Measurements: Surveys of perceived risk items, ever use of cannabis, cigarettes and alcohol, as well as conduct problems, mental health symptoms, and impulsivity. Findings: The largest differences between the countries were found for the risk of cannabis use. Swedish participants reported much higher perceived risk both for continuous and occasional use than US students. For cigarettes, chewing tobacco and alcohol students from the US reported higher risk perception than the Swedish students did. Females reported higher perceived risk for all substances than male students.Conduct problems were associated with less perceived risk in all examples and impulsivity in cannabis and alcohol issues. Increasedmental health symptoms were associated with increased perceived risk for alcohol. Those who have used the specific drug reported lower levels of risk for that drug butmostly not for other drugs. Conclusions: Perceived risk for cannabis was higher in Swedish students than in US students while cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco and alcohol use were perceived as more risky in the US. One possibility could be that Sweden has much tougher drug laws than the US while less stringent alcohol and tobacco laws.

Background. To study effects of ever used cigarettes or cannabis on amount and consequences of alcohol drinking. The ATLAS Project is a long-term longitudinal study comparing the development of substance use from high school to the young adult life period (18-23 years) in the US and Sweden. Methods. Baseline data for 3352 17-19 year-old students (65% from Sweden, 35% from US). Measurements: Questionnaire AUDIT-C, Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index, RAPI, ever use of marijuana, cigarettes and alcohol, onset of alcohol drinking, Conduct problems, SCL-8, Impulsivity. Results. The patterns of ever use differed distinctly between the two countries. In US 35% had never used alcohol, 17% had used alcohol and cannabis, 4% alcohol and cigarettes and 22% alcohol, cannabis and cigarettes. Corresponding figures in Sweden were 7%, 1%, 48% and 17%, respectively. Sweden had higher scores on AUDIT C and RAPI than US in the first three groups. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses on AUDIT C early drinking onset, conduct problems and impulsivity had about the same positive effects. Sweden, ever use of cigarettes and marijuana were all significantly related. Marijuana influenced less in Sweden than in the US. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses on RAPI conduct problems had a very strong effect. Sweden, cigarettes and marijuana were all significantly related. Cigarettes influenced less on consequences of drinking in Sweden than in the US. Conclusions. Sweden and the US differed in important aspects on modulating effects of cannabis and cigarettes on alcohol drinking. Supported by a grant from NIAAA/NIH for Larimer/Berglund.

Mobile interventions based on text messages, automated telephone programs (interactive voice response (IVR)), and smartphone apps offer a new approach targeting hazardous alcohol use in university students. This review covers seven recent studies involving college or university students that evaluated intervention efficacy in comparison to controls: four using text messages, one using IVR, and two smartphone apps. Only the study evaluating IVR reported positive results for the primary outcome. Two of the text message studies reported positive results on secondary outcomes, while the other two reported no differences in comparison to control groups. For smartphone apps, one study reported positive results on secondary outcomes, while the other showed no differences in comparison to controls for a web-based app and negative results for a native app. Further development of mobile interventions is needed for this at-risk population, both in terms of intervention content and use of robust research designs.

Background: About 50% of university students overconsume alcohol, and drinking habits in later adulthood are to some extent established during higher educational studies. Several studies have demonstrated that Internet-based interventions have positive effects on drinking habits among university students. Our recent study evaluated two mobile phone apps targeting drinking choices at party occasions via personalized feedback on estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) for students with hazardous drinking. No changes in drinking parameters were found over a seven-week period apart from an increase in number of drinking occasions among men for one of the apps tested. Up to 30% of the study participants drank at potentially harmful levels: higher than the national recommended number of standard drinks per week (a maximum of 9 for women and 14 for men) in Sweden. Objective: (1) To evaluate improved versions of the two mobile phone apps tested in our prior trial, in a new, 3-armed randomized controlled trial among university students with at least hazardous drinking habits according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identifications Test (AUDIT; Study 1). (2) After 6 weeks, to target study participants showing alcohol consumption higher than the national recommended levels for standard drinks per week by offering them participation in a second, 2-armed randomized trial evaluating an additional mobile phone app with skill enhancement tasks (Study 2). (3) To follow participants at 6, 12 and 18 weeks after recruitment to Study 1 and at 6 and 12 weeks after recruitment to Study 2. Methods: Two randomized controlled trials are conducted. Study 1: Students are recruited at four Swedish universities, via direct e-mail and advertisements on Facebook and student union web sites. Those who provide informed consent, have a mobile phone, and show at least hazardous alcohol consumption according to the AUDIT (≥6 for women; ≥8 points for men) are randomized into three groups. Group 1 has access to the Swedish government alcohol monopoly’s app, Promillekoll, offering real-time estimated eBAC calculation; Group 2 has access to a Web-based app, PartyPlanner, developed by the research group, offering real-time eBAC calculation with planning and follow-up functions; and Group 3 participants are controls. Follow-up is conducted at 6, 12 and 18 weeks. Study 2. Participants who at the first 6-week follow-up show drinking levels higher than 9 (W) or 14 (M) standard drinks (12 g alcohol) per week, are offered participation in Study 2. Those who consent are randomized to either access to a skills training app, TeleCoach or to a wait-list control group. Results: Latent Markov models for Study 1 and mixed models analyses for Study 2 will be performed. Study 2 data will be analyzed for publication during the spring of 2016; Study 1 data will be analyzed for publication during the fall of 2016. Conclusions: If mobile phone interventions for reducing hazardous alcohol use are found to be effective, the prospects for positively influencing substance use-related health among university students can considerably improve.

Introduction: Most university students overconsume alcohol and have smartphones. Brief online interventions reduce students’ alcohol intake. Delivering brief interventions to students via smartphone apps should be investigated. Method: Students at several Swedish universities were invited to the 3 studies described via e-mails and online ads. Students with a smartphone and risky alcohol consumption according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were included, following informed consent. Three apps were tested, two targeting individual drinking choices on party occasions (Promillekoll and PartyPlanner), and one targeting high-risk users (TeleCoach™). Study 1 offered randomization into 3 groups: Promillekoll (1), offering real-time estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) calculation; PartyPlanner (2), a web-based app with real-time eBAC calculation and additional planning/follow-up functions; a control group (3). Follow-up occurred at 7 weeks. Study 2 replicated Study 1; changes included improved apps based on Study 1 results, and follow-up times extended from 7 to 14 and 21 weeks (T1, T2 & T3). Study 3 offered participants at T1 from Study 2, who drank over 9 (women) and 14 (men) standard drinks/week, randomization into an intervention group (TeleCoach™) and a wait-list control group (intervention offered at T2). Results: For Study 1, 1932 fulfilled eligibility criteria for randomization. Attrition was 22.7–39.3 percent, higher among heavier drinkers and highest in Group 2. Per-protocol analyses revealed one significant timeby- group interaction, where Group 1 participants increased the frequency of their drinking occasions compared to controls (p = 0.001). Among all participants, 29 percent showed high-risk drinking, over the recommended weekly drinking levels of 9 (women) and 14 (men) standard glasses. Preliminary results will be reported for Studies 2 and 3. Discussion: Mobile phone apps offer a huge potential for making brief interventions available to more university students than ever before. Research is needed to identify effective app content.

Background and Aims: University students with risky drinking are a clear target group for intervention via smartphone apps. This study compared three different apps over a 20-week period, for university students with hazardous and excessive drinking patterns. Materials and Methods: Students from six campuses were invited to a three-armed trial (A). Those with hazardous alcohol use (n = 2166) were randomly assigned to one of two smartphone apps offer- ing feedback on real-time estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) levels, or to a control group, with three follow-ups at 6, 12 and 20  weeks. At 6  weeks, participants in the app groups with excessive weekly alcohol consumption of >9 (women) or >14 (men) drinks per week (n  =  257), were offered participation in a second trial (B); con-senters (n  =  186) were randomly assigned to a skills-based app or a waitlist group, and compared with an assessment-only control group. Results: Six-week analyses (n = 2166) replicated our earlier trial from 2014, re-confirming earlier results: the Promillekoll app was associated with higher quantity and frequency of drinking compared to controls, and a higher risk for excessive drinking; the PartyPlanner group did not differ from controls. Lower-risk drinkers from trial A (n = 1177) up to 20 weeks did not differ from controls on main outcomes. However, sub-analyses showed that individuals with higher consumption had higher motivation to reduce intake. In both intervention groups, con-sumption was lower for more highly motivated participants compared to controls at 6- and 20-week follow-ups. Latent class analysis of par- ticipants in both trials (n = 2166) revealed a class (n = 146) that drank several days a week and that differed significantly from the remain- ing cohort in gender, age, and alcohol consumption. For this class, access to the Promillekoll app appeared marginally associated with lower quantity over time; access to the skills-based TeleCoach app was clearly associated with fewer drinking days up to 20 weeks. Conclusions: Smartphone apps targeting eBAC can influence drink-ing levels up to 20 weeks for university students with hazardous use and higher motivation to reduce their drinking. A skills-based app that reduces intake among students with excessive weekly consumption can be particularly effective for students with daily drinking habits.

Objective Adolescent alcohol use predicts a myriad of negative mental and physical health outcomes including fatality (Midanik, 2004). Research in parental influence on alcohol consumption finds parental monitoring (PM), or knowing where/whom your child is with, is associated with lower levels of alcohol use in adolescents (e.g., Arria et al., 2008). As PM interventions have had only limited success (Koutakis, Stattin, & Kerr, 2008), investigating moderating factors of PM is of importance. Country may serve as one such moderator (Calafat, Garcia, Juan, Becoña, & Fernández-Hermida, 2014). Thus, the purpose of the present report is to assess the relationship between PM and alcohol use in the US and Sweden. Method High school seniors from the US (n = 1181, 42.3% Male) and Sweden (n = 2171, 44.1% Male) completed assessments of total drinks consumed in a typical week, problematic alcohol use, and perceived PM. Results Generalized linear mixed modeling (GLM, Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2013; Hilbe, 2011) was used to examine whether country moderated the relationship between PM and alcohol use. Results revealed main effects of country and PM and a significant interaction between country and PM in predicting total drinks per week and PM in predicting problematic alcohol use (p < 0.001). Conclusions While PM is related to lower quantity of alcohol consumed and problematic alcohol use, greater PM appears to be more strongly related to fewer drinks per week and less problematic alcohol use in the US, as compared to Sweden.

Based on Situational Action Theory (SAT) the overall aim is to study the interaction between individual factors (morality and ability to exercise self-control) and the moral of settings in which they interact. Furthermore, to examine similarities and differences between male and female adolescents. Data is derived from the longitudinal project Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS). Approximately 500 adolescents from a cohort of children born 1995, residing in Malmö year 2007, have been studied. Three waves of data are used, from when the adolescents were between 15-19 years of age, rendering a sample of almost 400 adolescents. The longitudinal interactions are tested via structural equation models, and the results discussed against theoretical implications as well as implications regarding criminal behaviour.

A respectable amount of studies focusing on neighborhood effects on crime and disorder has consistently found and consolidated collective efficacy as a central mediator explaining variations across neighborhoods. It is a theoretical notion based upon two mechanisms (social cohesion and shared expectations for control) where it is hypothesized that the residents' willingness to intervene for the common good of the neighborhood, relies on the level of shared values amongst neighbors. Informal social control is thus theorized to be endorsed in neighborhoods characterized by social cohesion .Together these two theoretical building blocks form collective efficacy which is furthermore argued to be impeded or hindered in neighborhoods characterized by for instance concentrated disadvantage, higher immigrant concentration, and residential instability. At the individual level instead, levels of collective efficacy is correlated with levels of SES, homeownership, age, and mobility. However, findings suggest that these characteristics vary across cultural contexts. This study sets out to test the two mechanisms social cohesion and informal social control separately with the aim of investigating if they originate or are derived from the same social and structural characteristics. Using data from the fear of crime survey conducted in Malmö (Sweden) in 2012 (n=4195), 104 urban neighborhoods form the basis for separate models each controlling for neighborhood as well as individual characteristics. The results will be discussed against the theoretical backdrop of collective efficacy and if the effects it has on fear of crime and victimization necessarily stems from an integrative notion of the two mechanisms/concepts. Practical policy implications will furthermore be discussed as will matters for further research.

The scientific focus of criminological research has since long been on criminal and antisocial behaviour. However, a group of individuals reporting that they have never engaged in delinquent behaviour (delinquency abstainers) have consistently been identified and until only recently not rendered much scientific interest. It has by some been proposed that delinquency abstention is a result of individuals being excluded from peer groups due to undesired characteristics (e.g. high sense of moral beliefs), although this notion is contested. Morality has by others instead been perceived as having a direct effect on abstention, which is the hypothesis tested in this study. It does so by comparing delinquency abstainers to low- frequency non-abstainers with regards to moral belief, delinquent peer association, and time spent unsupervised with peers, and furthermore examines the effects across gender. Logistic regressions were run to examine direct and mediating effects using data from the longitudinal project Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Developmental Study (MINDS). Results indicate that strong moral beliefs have a direct effect on abstention and that this effect is not mediated by delinquent peer association. Associating with delinquent peers did in turn predict non-abstention but spending time unsupervised with peers did neither predict abstention nor delinquency. Some gender differences found points towards stronger morality amongst females and that the effect of morality for males depends on peer association. Morality should therefore not be perceived as an undesirable characteristic which excludes individuals from peer groups but rather as an important factor in the inhibition of delinquency.

Background: Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia display poor premorbid adjustment (PPA) in half of the cases. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) are common child psychiatric disorders. These two facts have not previously been linked in the literature. Aims: To determine the prevalence of ADHD/CD problems retrospectively among patients with psychoses, and whether and to what extent the high frequency of substance abuse problems among such patients may be linked to ADHD/CD problems. Method: ADHD and CD problems/diagnoses were retrospectively recorded in one forensic (n = 149) and two non-forensic samples (n = 98 and n = 231) of patients with a psychotic illness: schizophrenia, bipolar or other, excluding drug-induced psychoses. Results: ADHD and CD were much more common among the patients than in the general population—the odds ratio was estimated to be greater than 5. There was no significant difference in this respect between forensic and non-forensic patients. Substance abuse was common, but substantially more common among patients with premorbid ADHD/CD problems. Conclusions: Previous views regarding PPA among patients with a psychotic illness may reflect an association between childhood ADHD/CD and later psychosis. The nature of this association remains uncertain: two disorders sharing some generative mechanisms or one disorder with two main clinical manifestations. Childhood ADHD and particularly CD problems contribute to the high frequency of substance abuse in such groups.

The abuse of flunitrazepam (FZ) compounds is worldwide, and several studies have reflected on the consequences with regard to violence, aggression and criminal lifestyle of FZ users. Criminals take high doses of FZ or some other benzodiazepines to "calm down" before the planned crime. There is support from earlier studies that most likely, all benzodiazepines may increase aggression in vulnerable males. Chronic intake of high doses of FZ increases aggression in male rats. Because psychopathy involves aggression, we have examined whether psychopathy as well as any of the four facets of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle and Antisocial) are related to different substance use disorders, with the focus on FZ. We have also examined the relationship between each PCL-R item and FZ use. Participants were 114 male offenders aged 14-35 years, all of whom were convicted for severe, predominantly violent, offences. Substance use, including FZ, was not more common in those who scored high in psychopathy. Use of FZ was more common in offenders who scored high in Facet 4 (Antisocial) of the PCL-R (odds ratio = 4.30, 95% CI 1.86-9.94). Only one of the PCL-R items, "Criminal versatility", was significantly associated with FZ use (odds ratio = 3.7). It may be concluded that intake of FZ has a specific relationship to only one of the facets and not to psychopathy per se. ; The findings have also important theoretical implications because Facet 4 is not a key factor of the construct of psychopathy. Clinical implications of the article: We have used the new two-factor and four-facet theoretical model of psychopathy in the young offender population, many of them with one or more substance use disorders. The present results suggest that antisocial behavior defined by Facet 4 (poor behavioral control, early behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, revocation of conditional release and criminal versatility) in the studied subjects is more typical for FZ users than it is for non-FZ users. This may have implications for assessment and treatment. Clinicians should be aware that criminals with high scores on Facet 4 have a more than fourfold odds of being a FZ user. This conclusion has an important clinical implication because FZ abuse is very common and is not always the focus of a forensic psychiatric assessment. ;

Strong self-esteem is related to good psychological health. Dyslexia has a negative effect on self-esteem, but this effect depends on support levels at home and/or school. Women with dyslexia are an under investigated group, and it has been suggested that female dyslexics should be given special attention from teachers with a view to improving their self-esteem. This paper set out to compare levels of self-esteem in women with dyslexia and normative women, and to investigate relationships between dyslexic problems and self-esteem. It was hypothesized that women with dyslexia would have a weaker self-esteem. We have assessed dyslexia, using a Swedish battery of standardised pedagogical, IQ, and neuropsychological tests, and the self-esteem of twelve young women (mean age 19 years; range 16-30), using a Swedish questionnaire that distinguishes between different dimensions of self-esteem (physical characteristics, talents and gifts, psychological health, relationships with parents and family, and relationships with others). Comparative (t-tests) and correlational (Pearson’s correlations and stepwise multiple regression analyses) statistical methods were performed. The study subjects had a weaker self-esteem than that of a normative sample of females (N = 313) in all dimensions, except for the dimension of relationships with parents and family. Spelling ability was related to “Physical characteristics” (negative) and to “Relations with parents and family” (positive). Moreover, speed of reading was related to “Psychological health” (positive). The use of questionnaires that distinguish between different dimensions of self-esteem and a larger sample is recommended in future studies.

Previous neuropsychiatric studies suggest a relationship between reading disability and cognitive impulsivity. This relationship is not entirely explained by the high comorbidity between reading disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as children with a co-occurrence of these disorders tend to be more impulsive than those with ADHD only. Other research has demonstrated that poor verbal skill (irrespective of the presence of dyslexia) deficits in executive functions and impulsivity are important risk factors for criminal behaviour. The present study bridges these two research traditions by examining whether patients undergoing forensic psychiatric investigation who also have dyslexia, have a cognitive style characterized by impulsivity. Male forensic patients (mean age 27 years, range 16–35) with (n = 9) and without (n = 13) dyslexia were evaluated on the computerized EuroCog test battery. The findings suggest that patients with dyslexia tend to use a cognitive impulsive style and suggest a more direct link between dyslexia and cognitive impulsivity that is not mediated by the presence of ADHD. In order to identify treatment needs and tailor treatment accordingly, forensic patients should be assessed with respect to poor verbal skill, dyslexia and impulsivity.

To hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable and punish them for their offences has been an important goal in the political rhetoric concerning domestic violence in Sweden. Through new legislation, media campaigns and collaboration projects between the police and the social services, women who have been victims of domestic violence have been urged to report to the police and remain in the criminal investigation process. The purpose of this study is to examine whether social support given at police stations will result in more prosecutions. The study is based on data collected from police investigations and analysed by a multivariate regression method. The results show that strong evidence for prosecution, such as the presence of witnesses and documented injuries, and also the offender’s position on the allegations and whether or not the woman hesitates to participate in the criminal investigation, are the most important factors for a decision to prosecute. Support to the victim from the social services also increases the probability of prosecution, but the impact is smaller and uncertain. It is concluded that this form of support should not be based on the requirement that the woman has made a police report, but rather be given to all victims of domestic violence.

This paper addresses the risk of research exposing people with an immigrant background in criminal court cases to Internet-based racist persecution, due to mismanagement of general ethical guidelines. The principle of informed consent, ideally serving to protect people under study from harm may, in fact, cause them more harm due to the interest among certain Internet-based networks of spreading identifiable, degrading information. Arguments are based on ethically challenging experiences from two ethnographic research projects carried out in Swedish district court environments, focused on immigrant court cases. Ethical advice provided by ethical review boards and established research guidelines, were based on an unawareness of the potentially destructive rendezvous in media attractive immigrant court cases between ‘ethically informed’ research, crime journalism, freedom of information legislation and ‘Internet vigilantes’ on a quest to persecute court participants and their families in the global digital arena.

As the City.Risks project has proceeded with developing technological solutions for avoiding and mitigating safety issues in urban environments, new questions have risen that call for attention within criminological research. Although research on safety and fear of crime indicates that situational circumstances are of great importance for understanding these phenomena, studies of perceptions of safety in relation to situational circumstances often lack proper operationalisations of what is being studied (i.e. situations). One of the most suitable approaches for studying situational phenomena is the experience sampling method (ESM). In short, ESM examines individuals’ perceptions and emotions as they occur in a particular situation (i.e. ‘here and now’). However, ESM has rarely been employed in studies of safety and fear of crime despite its potential to provide important information on situational aspects of safety that in turn may assist in developing safety increasing interventions. The lack of ESM studies in criminology, as revealed in the development of the City.Risks project, therefore called for action. Yet, while acknowledging the importance of ESM studies, it was not evident on how to proceed with a solution within the City.Risks framework. With assistance from the Department of Computer Science at Malmö University, a project idea emerged that could run in parallel with City.Risks to both benefit from and provide knowledge to City.Risks. In the project, two groups of students in computer science (N=15) were assigned to develop a prototype of a research instrument that could examine perceptions of safety using an ESM approach. As identified by other researchers (e.g. Solymosi et al, 2016), a smart phone application would be the optimal framework in which a short ESM inspired self-administered questionnaire could be developed. The students were provided with the requirements for the research instrument which were mainly related to basic principles of what constitutes a situation. Somewhat simplified, these principles include e.g. the possibility to record when, where, and with whom an individual takes part of a situation, in addition to what is happening in that specific situation, and the ability to correlate this information with the perception of safety. In a collaborative process between the authors and the students, and by employing a SCRUM approach, the two groups developed two diverse prototypes that to various extent tapped into the requirements of an ESM instrument for studying perceptions of safety and fear of crime. Although the instruments are only prototypes, they illustrate how experiences from City.Risks evoke advancements in social science by highlighting the need to further develop criminological research. Moreover, with more knowledge on experiences and emotions in relation to particular situations, law enforcement agencies, practitioners and policy makers may better address the highly difficult task of increasing citizens’ perceptions of safety as well as reducing fear of crime. Finally, by employing students, the project also highlights the potential for Horizon 2020 projects to stimulate participation and interest in cross scientific research (e.g. the diverse disciplines of criminology and computer science).

This study aims to examine offending and victimization in relation to situational criminogenic exposure. Self-reported data was collected at three occasions from a sample of 525 adolescents in Malmö, of which 320 fulfilled the study’s inclusion criteria. The results show that spending a lot of time unsupervised, pursuing unstructured activities, spending a lot of time with peers, and alcohol use, are associated with offending and victimization to various extent. However, the associations vary according to outcome and in relation to the participants’ age. Lifestyle-Routine Activities Theory may explain the findings, but needs to consider age as an important factor in the future. The two conclusions from this study are that (1) offending and victimization should be treated as two different, yet related concepts in relation to situational criminogenic exposure, and that (2) it is important to add an age dimension to the study of situational criminogenic exposure because the associations between the exposure variables and the outcome variables vary from early to late adolescence.

Objectives: To explore the degree of self-reported suffering following violent incidents and the prevalence of police reporting as well as other help-seeking behaviour among women in early pregnancy with history of violence. Study design: A cross-sectional design. 1939 pregnant women 18 years were recruited prospectively between March 2012 and September 2013 in south-west Sweden. Of those, 761 (39.5%) reported having a history of violence, and they comprised the cohort investigated in the present study. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square analysis, and T-test were used for the statistical calculations. Results: More than four of five women (80.5%) having a history of emotional abuse (n = 374), more than half (52.4%) having history of physical abuse (n = 561), and almost three of four (70.6%) who experienced sexual abuse (n = 302) reported in the early second trimester of their pregnancy that they still suffered from their experience. Of those women who had experienced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, 10.5%, 25.1%, and 18.0%, respectively, had never disclosed their experiences to anyone. At most, a quarter of the abused women had reported a violent incident to the police. Conclusions: All midwives and other actors who meet women with experience of abuse need to have increased knowledge about the long-term consequences of all types of abuse. Increased routine questioning of pregnant women about history of violence would help to prevent experiences of violence from affecting pregnancy and childbirth negatively and facilitate the provision of help and support.

The transition fromadolescence to emerging adulthood is a period of increased risk for heavy drinking behavior. Prior research has found that college students drink more and experience more consequences than their non-college counterparts. However, sparse research has examined whether students who are college- versus work-bound show differences in drinking and related consequences in high school (HS) as well. In addition, little research has explored whether alcohol expectancies also change over time as a function of selection into college versus non-college environments. The current study examined whether alcohol-related expectancies, consequences, and drinking changed over the course of a year as a function of whether participants transitioned into a four-year university (UNI), community college/trade school (CC), or workforce setting (WF). Participants (N=848) were HS seniors (mean age=17.5 years; 37%male, 73%Caucasian) taking part in a larger study examining alcohol use trajectories.Measures included alcohol expectancies (CEOA), drinking (DDQ), and alcohol-related problems (RAPI) assessed during their senior year and one year later. Repeatedmeasures ANOVAs revealed significant main effects for time, indicating increases in drinks per week F(1, 807)=19.18, p>0.001 and alcohol-related problems F(1, 808)=8.78, p>0.01 and a decrease in alcohol expectancies F(1, 808)=14.35, p>0.001 from baseline to 12 month follow-up. Results also found a main effect for group, indicating UNI students held higher expectancies F(2, 808)=8.15, p>0.001 and drank more F(2, 807)=6.26, p>0.01 than other participants. A significant time9group interaction showed that whereas UNI-bound students drank less thanWF-bound students in HS, the roles reversed one year later with UNI students drinking more thanWF students F (2, 807)=27.56, p>0.001. Similarly, WF-bound students had more alcohol-related problems in HS followed by CC-bound students and UNI-bound students, but one year later the order reversed with UNI students exhibiting the most alcohol-related problems F(2, 807)=5.21, p>0.01. Results indicate that whereas UNI-bound seniors exhibit the highest expectancies, drink less, and experience fewer problems during HS, upon entry into UNI, they experience more problems and out-drink their CC andWF counterparts. These results highlight the importance of prevention strategies, including an expectancy challenge component, especially for UNI-bound HS seniors.