Vulnerable children's health as described in investigations of reported children

This study explores whether the social services weigh in health aspects, and what these may be, when investigating reported children's life situation. Information about physical and psychological health aspects for 259 children in 272 investigations was included. Overall, information about children's health was limited. Problematic emotions were the most commonly reported health aspect in the investigations, whereas suicidal thoughts, self‐harm behaviour and gastrointestinal and renal diseases were mentioned least of all. A cluster analysis revealed that the low level of health information group included the largest sample of data and consisted of investigations with minimal information about children's health. The three other cluster groups, Neurological diseases and psychosomatic symptoms, Emotional health and Physical and psychological health and destructive behaviour, consisted of investigations conducted mostly according to the model called Children's Needs In Focus (BBIC, in Swedish, Barns Behov i Centrum). Although these investigations also produced limited information, they provided more than those assessed as having a low level of information about health aspects. The conclusion is that it is necessary to increase information about health aspects in investigations if social welfare systems are to be able to fulfil their ambition of supporting vulnerable children's need of health care.     

The revival of death: expression,expertise and governmentality

This paper discusses Walter's (1994) assertion that death in the West has recently undergone a revival. In particular it focuses on his claim that this revival is composed of two different strands: a late modern strand and a postmodern strand. The former, according to Walter, is driven by experts who seek to control death, the latter by ordinary people who seek to express their emotions freely. Describing the history and work of Cruse Bereavement Care, the largest bereavement counselling organization in the UK, we question Walter's distinction. We then problematize Walter's suggestion that the revival of death is caused by general social transformations. In contrast we evoke Rose's (1996) work on 'subjectification' and seek to link recent changes in the management of death and grief to permutations in governmental rationality.     

Gender,Parenthood and Wage Differences: The Importance of Time-Consuming Job Characteristics

Using data from the Swedish Level of Living Survey (2000, 2010), we investigate how the gender wage gap varies with occupational prestige and family status and also examine the extent to which this gap is explained by time-consuming working conditions. In addition, we investigate whether there is an association between parenthood, job characteristics and wage (as differentiated by gender). The analyses indicate that there are gender differences regarding prestige-based pay-offs among parents that are partly explained by fathers’ greater access to employment characterized by time-consuming conditions. Separate analyses for men and women demonstrate the presence of a marriage wage premium for both genders, although only men have a parenthood wage premium. This fatherhood premium is however only present in high-prestigious occupations. Compared with childless men, fathers are also more advantaged in terms of access to jobs with time-consuming working conditions, but the wage gap between fathers and childless men is not explained by differences in access to such working conditions.     

Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Preschool-Aged Children: A Study of Swedish Cases from 2010 to 2014

Alleged child sexual abuse against preschool-aged children is often considered one of the most challenging cases for a prosecutor to handle. The aim of the current study was to examine differences between prosecuted and discontinued cases of alleged sexual abuse of preschool-aged children. Data from Swedish criminal cases of alleged sexual abuse of children ages 2–6 issued from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed (N = 130). Prosecuted cases were more likely to contain forensic evidence (documentation of abuse, corroborative DNA evidence, or a corroborative medical examination), or a confession from the suspect, while such evidence was not available in any discontinued case. Furthermore, cases where the child was older, where the prosecutor had decided to conduct an interview with the child, and where there was more than one alleged victim were more likely to be prosecuted. Factors that were associated with a decreased likelihood of prosecution were ongoing custody disputes between parents, foster care placements prior to the abuse, and if the report concerned a boy. Boys and younger children were also less likely to be interviewed. The results suggest that prosecution of sexual abuse cases involving preschool-aged children remains difficult and that there is room for improvements in these investigations.     

Psychological and physiological stress responses during repetitive work at an assembly line

The association between psychological and physiological stress responses was examined in 20 male workers at an assembly line. Each worker was studied during a 2 h period on two consecutive days in their normal job and, in order to obtain physiological baseline values, during a corresponding paid 2 h period off the job on the third day. Self-reports of work demands, mood, etc., measurements of catecholamine and cortisol excretion and of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were obtained at the end of each of the three 2 h periods. Work induced a significant elevation in almost all psychological and physiological measurements. Levels were consistently lower in workers reporting a 'good' workday compared to those reporting a 'normal' or a 'bad' day. Correlations between self-reports and physiological values showed that catecholamine and cortisol responses, respectively, tended to be associated selectively with different psychological conditions, catecholamine values being associated with feelings of time pressure and pressure by demands, cortisol values with irritation, tenseness and tiredness. The results show that perceived stress at an assembly line is consistently reflected in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions of the workers.     

Identification Using Stability Restrictions

This paper studies inference in models that are identified by moment restrictions. We show how instability of the moments can be used constructively to improve the identification of structural parameters that are stable over time. A leading example is macroeconomic models that are immune to the well‐known (Lucas (1976)) critique in the face of policy regime shifts. This insight is used to develop novel econometric methods that extend the widely used generalized method of moments (GMM). The proposed methods yield improved inference on the parameters of the new Keynesian Phillips curve.     

The Development of an Internet-Based Treatment for Problem Gamblers and Concerned Significant Others: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Problem gambling creates significant harm for the gambler and for concerned significant others (CSOs). While several studies have investigated the effects of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for problem gambling, less is known about the effects of involving CSOs in treatment. Behavioral couples therapy (BCT) has shown promising results when working with substance use disorders by involving both the user and a CSO. This pilot study investigated BCT for problem gambling, as well as the feasibility of performing a larger scale randomized controlled trial. 36 participants, 18 gamblers and 18 CSOs, were randomized to either BCT or individual CBT for the gambler. Both interventions were Internet-delivered self-help interventions with therapist support. Both groups of gamblers improved on all outcome measures, but there were no differences between the groups. The CSOs in the BCT group lowered their scores on anxiety and depression more than the CSOs of those randomized to the individual CBT group did. The implications of the results and the feasibility of the trial are discussed.     

How can we make better graphs? An initiative to increase the graphical expertise and productivity of quantitative scientists

Graphics are at the core of exploring and understanding data, communicating results and conclusions, and supporting decision‐making. Increasing our graphical expertise can significantly strengthen our impact as professional statisticians and quantitative scientists. In this article, we present a concerted effort to improve the way we create graphics at Novartis. We provide our vision and guiding principles, before describing seven work packages in more detail. The actions, principles, and experiences laid out in this paper are applicable generally, also beyond drug development, which is our field of work. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences and help foster the use of good graphs in pharmaceutical statistics and beyond. A Graphics Principles “Cheat Sheet” is available online at https://graphicsprinciples.github.io/ .     

The flight from universalism

Up to the beginning of the 1990s Sweden had been considered a paragon welfare state in its realisation of universalist principles and an institutional welfare model. This seems to be changing rapidly. Mass unemployment, welfare expenditure cuts and institutional transformation have introduced several selective mechanisms into the Swedish welfare system, adding up to a retreat from universalism. New forms of selectivity can be seen in all layers of the welfare system, both transfer benefits and social security, public personal social services and the relation between state and voluntary organisations. The shifting of burdens from universal social security and insurance-based welfare onto local means tested systems has already meant a restigmatisation of unemployment, as the unemployed lose eligibility for the insurance-based systems, and an increase in the proportion of people who have to rely on poor relief instead of rights-based welfare, and when unemployment has gone up, so have work requirements for benefits. A rising proportion of labour market programmes are now municipally organised obligations instead of state administered rights. Conditioning the right to day care, appraising needs-tested services for the elderly, like home help and care, make personal social services change in the same directions. This may endanger the classical alliance between women and the welfare state.