A 3-year follow-up study of Swedish youths committed to juvenile institutions: Frequent occurrence of criminality and health care use regardless of drug abuse.
This 3-year follow-up study compares background variables, extent of criminality and criminal recidivism in the form of all court convictions, the use of inpatient care, and number of early deaths in Swedish institutionalized adolescents (N=100) with comorbid substance use disorders (SUD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (n=25) versus those with SUD but no ADHD (n=30), and those without SUD (n=45). In addition it aims to identify whether potential risk factors related to these groups are associated with persistence in violent criminality. Results showed almost no significant differences between the three diagnostic groups, but the SUD plus ADHD group displayed a somewhat more negative outcome with regard to criminality, and the non-SUD group stood out with very few drug related treatment episodes. However, the rate of criminal recidivism was strikingly high in all three groups, and the use of inpatient care as well as the number of untimely deaths recorded in the study population was dramatically increased compared to a age matched general population group. Finally, age at first conviction emerged as the only significant predictor of persistence in violent criminality with an AUC of .69 (CI (95%) .54-.84, p=.02). Regardless of whether SUD, with or without ADHD, is at hand or not, institutionalized adolescents describe a negative course with extensive criminality and frequent episodes of inpatient treatment, and thus requires a more effective treatment than present youth institutions seem to offer today. However, the few differences found between the three groups, do give some support that those with comorbid SUD and ADHD have the worst prognosis with regard to criminality, health, and untimely death, and as such are in need of even more extensive treatment interventions.
Seclusion and restraint are frequent but controversial coercive measures used in psychiatric treatment. Legislative efforts have started to emerge to control the use of these measures in many countries. In the present study, the nationwide trends in the use of seclusion and restraint were investigated in Finland over a 15-year span which was characterised by legislative changes aiming to clarify and restrict the use of these measures.
The data were collected during a predetermined week in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1998 and 2004, using a structured postal survey of Finnish psychiatric hospitals. The numbers of inpatients during the study weeks were obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Register.
The total number of the secluded and restrained patients declined as did the number of all inpatients during the study weeks, but the risk of being secluded or restrained remained the same over time when compared to the first study year. The duration of the restraint incidents did not change, but the duration of seclusion increased. A regional variation was found in the use of coercive measures.
Legislative changes solely cannot reduce the use of seclusion and restraint or change the prevailing treatment cultures connected with these measures. The use of seclusion and restraint should be vigilantly monitored and ethical questions should be under continuous scrutiny.
In the early twentieth century a wider debate took place about how Swedish society was to fight the spread of contagious venereal diseases and in 1910 a government committee had written a law proposal that would dramatically reform these measures previously, Swedish physicians had been united against any measures against these diseases that did not involve the regulation of prostitutes, but this consensus was slowly withering away in the early parts of the century. Female doctors and a younger generation of venereologists was drawing the conclusion that mandatory checks of only one out of two sexes was insufficient. This article reviews the debate regarding the regulation of prostitution that took place between conservative and liberal members in the Swedish Medical Association in 1911. It depicts a fierce discussion between members that still clung to nineteenth-century ideas of women as being prone to prostitution if left idle and unemployed, and liberal members that believed social injustices such as low wages laid behind women's decisions. The study gives an insight into the complexities of building the Swedish welfare state.
Since January 1 2013, group housing of sows has been compulsory within the European Union (EU) in all pig holdings with more than ten sows. Sows and gilts need to be kept in groups from 4 weeks after service to 1 week before the expected time of farrowing (Article 3(4) of Directive 2008/120/EC on the protection of pigs). The legislation regarding group housing was adopted already in 2001 and a long transitional period was allowed to give member states and producers enough time for adaptation. Even so, group housing of sows still seems to be uncommon in the EU, and is also uncommon in commercial pig farming systems in the rest of the world. In this review we share our experience of the Swedish 25 years of animal welfare legislation stipulating that sows must be loose-housed which de facto means group housed. The two most important concerns related to reproductive function among group-housed sows are the occurrence of lactational oestrus when sows are group-housed during lactation, and the stress that is associated with group housing during mating and gestation. Field and clinical observations in non-lactating, group-housed sows in Sweden suggest that by making basic facts known about the pig reproductive physiology related to mating, we might achieve application of efficient batch-wise breeding without pharmacological interventions. Group housing of lactating sows has some production disadvantages and somewhat lower productivity would likely have to be expected. Recordings of behavioural indicators in different housing systems suggest a lower welfare level in stalled animals compared with group-housed ones. However, there are no consistent effects on the reproductive performance associated with different housing systems. Experimental studies suggest that the most sensitive period, regarding disturbance of reproductive functions by external stressors, is the time around oestrus. We conclude that by keeping sows according to the pig welfare-friendly Directive 2008/120/EC, it is possible to combine group-housing of sows with good reproductive performance and productivity. However, substantially increased research and development is needed to optimize these systems.
The authors followed occurrence and formation of the national hygienic regulation of chemicals in workplace air, since 1920s in historical aspect. Now there is 90th anniversary of the regulation.
