Mid Sweden University

Background. Samis are indigenous people in north Europe. In the territory called Sapmi (Lapland), reindeer herding is the traditional base for the Sami economy. The relation between living conditions and positive health of the Swedish Samis has been sparsely studied. As health is closely linked to sense of coherence (SOC), an understanding of the background factors to SOC may contribute knowledge that might be useful in promoting living conditions and health. Methods. The study examines relations between the level of SOC and background factors from surveys in a Sami population (n = 613) in comparison to a non-Sami population (n = 525) in Sweden, and in comparison between 2 subsamples of Samis, that is, herders and non-herders. Results. There are more similarities than differences between the Sami and non-Sami populations. However, dividing the Sami population, reindeer herders had significantly lower SOC, and in specific the subcomponent manageability, that is, less ability to use available resources to meet different demands in life, compared to non-herders. Conclusions. In addition to age and health, predictors of SOC are related to the life form of reindeer husbandry and the belonging to the herding community.

This study is based on a nationwide survey of local Muslim congregations (n = 105) and focuses on the patterns and function of voluntary social work carried out by the congregations.Muslim congregations in Sweden are not only religious meeting places, but also social meeting places and centres for the organisation of a broad range of social welfare services: outreach activities, support to newly arrived immigrants and activities for children and young people. The work is carried out on a voluntary basis at the intersection between the congregation and the community. Muslim voluntary social work appears to be most intensive in smaller municipalities with a large amount of unemployment. The dominant discourse on Islam in Europe has claimed that Muslim social work is part of an attempt to create self-sufficient enclaves that impede the integration of Muslim immigrants into the wider society. Claims of this type seem, however, to be largely unfounded. The Swedish Muslim congregations that carry out the most voluntary social work are those most interested in co-operation with other organisations and with authorities of different types and those that have the most positive experiences of the wider society.

The aim of the study is to examine the extent to which Muslim congregations in Sweden cooperate with organizations in the public and voluntary sectors and to identify the internal and external organizational factors that favour or disfavour such cooperation. The study is based on a nationwide survey of local Muslim congregations (n = 105), and is the first survey of its kind in Europe. Like many other  voluntary organizations, Muslim congregations work in cooperation with other voluntary organizations, but also with various institutions run by the local authorities. In Sweden, cooperation between different organizations is strongly encouraged, which results in a system that provides the congregations with opportunity structures. Other factors that influence the degree of cooperation include whether the congregation feels support or opposition from the surrounding community and the local demographic and socio-economic situation: there is a higher degree of cooperation in small municipalities with many social problems. Ethnic heterogeneity is one of the major organizational factors that affect the degree of cooperation. congregations that have an open attitude towards different Muslim traditions, which essential for a multiethnic congregation, are also those most interested in cooperation with other organizations and institutions. Irrespective of whether they belong to a national umbrella organization or not, Muslim congregations in Sweden are in priciple independent local organizations. It is therefore difficult for Islam in Sweden to operate on a national level, in the way that other more established voluntary organizations do. On the other hand, this study shows that while they lack a united voice on the national arena, they have the advantage of flexibility arising from their local autonomy.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in Western Europe today. As a consequence, the emergence and growth of Muslim religious congregations is one of the most important changes that have taken place within the European third (or voluntary) sector in the last 20 years. However, more often than not, these congregations are described as "enclaves" or "integration traps" isolating new citizens from the rest of society, a picture that has remained largely uncontested due to a lack of more extensive research.

Objective: The influence of childhood trauma on the development of adult psychopathology is far from being elucidated.  As part of a collaborative project between research groups from South Africa (SA) and Sweden focusing on genetic and environmental factors contributing to anxiety disorders, this study specifically investigated rates of childhood trauma in South African and Swedish patients respectively, and whether, in the sample as a whole, different traumatic experiences in childhood is predictive of social anxiety (SAD) or panic disorder (PD) in adulthood.

Method: Participants with SAD or PD (85 from SA, 135 from Sweden) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).  Logistic regression was performed with data from the two countries separately, and from the sample as a whole, with primary diagnoses as dependent variables, with gender, age, and country as covariates, and the CTQ subscale totals as independent variables.  Additionally the study investigated the internal consistency of the CTQ subscales.

Results: SA patients showed higher levels of childhood trauma than Swedish patients.  When data from both countries were combined, SAD patients reported higher rates of childhood emotional abuse compared to those with PD; moreover, emotional abuse in childhood was found to play a predictive role in SAD/PD in adulthood in the Swedish and the combined samples, and the same trend was found in the SA sample.  The psychometric qualities of the CTQ subscales were adequate with the exception of the physical neglect subscale.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that anxiety disorder patients may differ across countries in terms of childhood trauma.  Certain forms of childhood abuse may contribute specific vulnerability to different types of psychopathology.  Longitudinal studies should focus on the potential sequential development of SAD/PD among individuals with childhood emotional abuse.

This study explores the worldwide use of compulsory commitment to care (CCC) at the end of the 20th centuryand evaluates the implementation of WHO recommendations since the 1960s. Based on three WHO reports, thelegislation of 90 countries and territories are analyzed, and types as well as predictors of such legislation are analyzed inmultivariate models from country characteristics. Laws on CCC for alcohol and drug misusers are common all over theworld; more than 80 percent of the countries and territories studied have such laws. The majority use civil commitment –acute or rehabilitative – in accordance with welfare logic, while a large minority still uses commitment under criminallaw, based on a moral logic. Civil CCC is positively related to strong economies or having been part of the Soviet legalsystem. CCC under criminal law is negatively related to the same factors. 

This study explores the worldwide use of compulsory commitment to care (CCC) at the end of the 20^th century and evaluates the implementation of recommendations from WHO since the 1960ies. Based on three WHO-reports, legislations of 90 countries and territories are analyzed, and predictors of such legislation, as well as type of such, are analyzed from country characteristics in multivariate models. Laws on CCC for alcohol and drug misusers are common all over the world, since more than 80 percent of the explored countries and territories have such laws. The majority use civil commitment – acute or rehabilitative – in accordance with welfare logic, while a great minority still uses commitment in criminal law, based on a moral logic. Civil CCC is positively related to strong economy or having been part of the Soviet legal system. CCC in criminal law is negatively related to the same factors