To Örebro University

IMPORTANCE: Depression and factors reflecting neighborhood social structure (ie, socioeconomic deprivation, ethnic heterogeneity, residential mobility, and urbanicity) have each been linked to criminal convictions. However, how the association between depression and crime varies across different neighborhood types, and the extent to which it reflects unmeasured familial confounding, remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the association between depression and violent and nonviolent criminal convictions varies across neighborhood types, and to assess the extent to which unmeasured familial factors contribute to the association.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This population-based matched cohort and sibling-comparison study used data from Swedish national registers from 1986 to 2020. Follow-up spanned from 2001 to 2020. Statistical analyses were performed from January to November 2025. The cohort included individuals with a diagnosis of depression, each matched to 5 population controls without depression by birth year, sex, and neighborhood type. EXPOSURE: Outpatient depression diagnosis (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision codes F32-F33.9) recorded from 2001 to 2020.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcomes were violent and nonviolent criminal convictions after diagnosis, identified through the National Crime Register. Conditional logistic regression estimated odds ratios (ORs) across 4 neighborhood types (resource-limited, rural low-diversity, urban professional, and urban affluent neighborhoods), with sibling comparisons used to assess familial confounding.

RESULTS: Among 571 470 matched individuals, 95 245 (36 297 male [38.1%]; median [IQR] age at first diagnosis, 20 [17-24] years) had depression. Depression was associated with increased odds of both violent and nonviolent convictions across all neighborhood types in unadjusted models. After adjustment for prior convictions, substance use disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, associations remained significant in all but resource-limited neighborhoods (violent conviction OR, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.97-1.33]; nonviolent conviction OR, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.92-1.11]). A second sample included 42 585 individuals with depression and their full siblings without depression (total, 85 170 individuals). Sibling comparisons showed partial attenuation, indicating that familial confounding accounted for some, but not all, of the associations. Sibling-matched estimates were largely consistent with fully adjusted general population-matched estimates (eg, violent convictions in rural low-diversity neighborhoods: sibling-matched OR, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.33-1.69] vs general population-matched OR, 1.51 [95% CI, 1.39-1.65]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study of the Swedish general population, the association between depression and criminal convictions varied across neighborhood types and was partially explained by familial factors. These findings underscore the relevance of considering contextual and familial influences and may offer insights for prevention and intervention strategies responsive to neighborhood social environments.

This study aimed to examine joint trajectories of aggression and peer victimization from early to middle childhood and their links to physical violence perpetration and online violence victimization in adolescence. The study used multi-informant longitudinal data for 2121 participants (53.4% boys) spanning from early childhood to mid-adolescence. Parallel-process latent class growth analysis of teacher and parent reported aggression and peer victimization identified five distinct joint trajectories: uninvolved (58.4%), low aggression (17.7%), high decreasing victimization (8.4%), both increasing (7.8%), and high aggression/moderate victimization (7.7%). Chi-square Wald tests of outcome differences across joint trajectories showed that the trajectories characterized by the highest levels of peer victimization, high decreasing victimization and both increasing, had an increased risk of self-reported physical violence perpetration in adolescence. There were no associations between joint trajectories and online violence victimization in adolescence. These findings indicate that there is substantial heterogeneity in children's development of aggression and peer victimization, and that high peer victimization seems particularly salient for physical violent tendencies in adolescence.

Purpose: We investigated how multidimensional neighborhood types, capturing the complexity of neighborhood social structure, related to criminal convictions and substance use disorders (SUDs) in Sweden while accounting for residential mobility and shared familial influences.

Methods: Using nationwide Swedish register data (1991-2020), we followed 1.82 million individuals born 19852002 across five neighborhood types previously identified using latent class analysis. These were defined by socioeconomic and demographic indicators, with the most common type (rural low-diversity neighborhoods) serving as the reference category. Associations between neighborhood types, violent and nonviolent convictions, and SUDs were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Neighborhood type was modeled as a time-varying exposure, capturing residential changes over time. Sibling comparison models were applied to account for familial confounding.

Results: Risks of violent convictions, nonviolent convictions, and SUDs were highest in resource-limited neighborhoods (i.e., socioeconomically deprived areas with high residential turnover; violent: adjusted HR (aHR) = 4.70, 95% CI 4.26-5.19; nonviolent: aHR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.92-2.22; SUDs: aHR = 3.36, 95% CI 3.093.65). Moderate increases were observed in urban high-diversity neighborhoods (i.e., characterized by ethnic heterogeneity), whereas risks were lowest in socioeconomically advantaged urban areas. Associations were attenuated but remained statistically significant in sibling comparisons. Sex differences were modest and followed similar patterns across outcomes.

Conclusion: Neighborhoods marked by socioeconomic disadvantage and residential instability, rather than ethnic diversity, were linked to higher risks of criminal convictions and SUDs. Remaining associations after familial adjustment suggest modest but meaningful contextual effects.

Background: Neighborhoods shape daily life through physical and social structures, such as socioeconomic conditions, population density, and resident turnover. Decades of research link neighborhood characteristics to health and behavioral outcomes. However, these factors are often studied independently, neglecting their interrelated nature.

Methods: Using Swedish population registry data, we employed latent class analyses to identify neighborhood typologies across six timepoints spanning 1991-2020. Neighborhoods, defined by Demographic Statistical Areas, were characterized by socioeconomic conditions, ethnic heterogeneity, residential instability, and urbanicity. Latent transition analyses examined changes over time.

Results: Four neighborhood types emerged in the early period (1991-2000): Rural Low-Diversity (45 %), Urban Professional (27 %), Urban Affluent (21 %), and Resource-Limited (7 %). From 2001 onwards, five types were identified, with the addition of Urban High-Diversity (9 %) and Rural Resource-Limited (3 %). Three types, Rural Low-Diversity, Urban Professional, and Urban Affluent, persisted across 30 years, representing 87-93 % of neighborhoods, with over 90 % of neighborhoods retaining their classification over time.

Conclusions: This multidimensional framework offers a foundation for future research, urban planning, and policy development.

INTRODUCTION: A sizeable number of adolescents with recurrent pain frequently miss school, yet the trajectories of absenteeism and their correlates remain unclear. We aimed to explore trajectories of school absenteeism due to pain among adolescents with recurrent pain, and predictors and correlates of the trajectories.

METHODS: A prospective cohort design with 3 yearly measurement points between 2016 and 2018 was used. The sample included 873 Swedish upper secondary school adolescents (mean age = 16.5 years; 60.8% girls; 11.7% immigrants) with recurrent pain (headache, abdominal and/or musculoskeletal pain ≥1/wk for 6 months). Predictors were sociodemographic variables, pain characteristics, depressive symptoms, and stressors in the school context. Distal outcomes were perceived future work ability and overall future expectancy.

RESULTS: We identified 3 trajectories of absenteeism through latent class growth analysis: persistently high absenteeism (18.1%), persistently low absenteeism (49.4%), and persistently no absenteeism (32.5%). Pain intensity and school-related stressors independently predicted absenteeism trajectories. Compared with the other trajectories, the persistently high absenteeism subgroup had more negative perceived future work ability and overall future expectancy.

CONCLUSION: A substantial subgroup of adolescents showed a stable pattern of high absenteeism across their upper secondary education, which was associated with overall negative expectancies for the future and specifically future work ability. Therefore, there is a need to identify this subgroup and intervene early in the life course to prevent long-term disadvantages in education, employment, and overall well-being.

Self-regulation is integral to human well-being. Previous research established associations between self-regulation and life outcomes, although mostly based on cross-sectional or longitudinal research with relatively short follow-up periods. We aimed to investigate associations between self-regulation during childhood and low education, psychiatric diagnosis, conviction for non-violent and violent crime, and premature mortality up to 50 years later. The sample consisted of boys born between 1943 and 1951 in Stockholm, Sweden, who were initially interviewed as part of the Clientele Study and followed up until they were 58-66 years of age as part of the Stockholm Life Course Project (N = 251). Our measure of self-regulation was indicated by five dimensions extracted from multiple sources and informants when study members were children. Information on life outcomes were extracted from Swedish national registry data available through 2009. Results from logistic regression and survival analyses showed that lower self-regulation during childhood was associated with a higher risk of conviction for non-violent and violent crime, receiving a psychiatric diagnosis and premature mortality up until late adulthood. Self-regulation was not associated with low education. Analyses were adjusted for intelligence and parental socioeconomic status. While based on a relatively small sample and measurement of self-regulation using data from the 1960s, our study supports the notion that self-regulation during childhood is central for well-being across the lifespan.

Childhood aggression and peer victimization are associated not only with each other but also with future delinquency. However, existing literature focuses almost entirely on aggression and peer victimization in middle childhood or adolescence, making it unclear whether such associations can be found in early childhood. The current study aimed to identify latent profiles of children based on early childhood aggression and peer victimization, and to examine whether profiles were associated with delinquent outcomes (theft, violence, and vandalism) in adolescence. We used longitudinal data from 2,113 participants (53.4% boys) between the ages of 3 and 5 years at baseline (M = 3.86, SD = 0.85). We applied a three-step latent profile analysis on teacher and parent measures of aggression and peer victimization and used self-reports about delinquent behaviors from ages 14 to 16 years as outcome measures. We accounted for potential clustering effects of preschool classes and adjusted analyses for age, sex, and socio-economic status. We identified four profiles of children: non-involved (68.7%), victims (16.3%), aggressors (13.7%), and aggressive victims (1.3%), but found no significant associations between latent profiles and delinquency. As nearly one-third of participants were identified as early childhood victims, aggressors, or aggressive victims, we highlighted the importance of addressing early childhood aggression and peer victimization since the risk for negative development (i.e. later criminality or social adjustment issues) has been shown in prior research.

Prior research has established that insomnia is predctive of pain in adolescents and that psychological mechanisms have a crucial role in this relationship. Adolescent girls report more insomnia and pain than boys, yet little is known of gender differences in how insomnia influences pain. This study assessed gender differences in levels and trajectories of insomnia and pain during adolescence, and whether rumination and negative mood mediated the effect of insomnia on pain. Longitudinal survey data measured on 5 annual occasions (Nbaseline = 2,767) were analyzed in a multigroup longitudinal serial mediation model. A final model was generated with insomnia as the predictor, rumination and depressed mood as mediators, pain as the outcome, and gender the grouping variable. The results showed that insomnia predicted pain in adolescents, with an effect 3.5 times larger in girls than boys. Depressed mood was the main mediator in boys. In girls, rumination was the only significant mediator. There were significant gender differences in the effects of insomnia on rumination and pain, and in the effects of rumination on depressed mood and pain, with stronger effects in girls. These results highlight that girls and boys should be considered separately when studying the relationship between insomnia and pain. PERSPECTIVE: Levels of insomnia and pain are progressively higher in adolescent girls than boys, across adolescence. The predictive strength of insomnia symptoms for future pain is 3.5 times greater in girls, with distinct gender-specific underlying pathways: rumination partially mediates this effect in girls, while depressed mood does so in boys.

Biopsychosocial criminological theories suggest that it is important to consider interactions between risk factors from different domains in the prediction of externalizing behavior. Lower resting heart rate is considered the best replicated biological risk factor for externalizing behavior. The psychological construct of empathy has also shown to be predictive of such behavior, but little is known about the potential interaction between these two different risk factors in predicting externalizing behavior. We examined the moderating role of empathy on the association between resting heart rate in childhood and adolescence with externalizing behavior by young adulthood using two subsets of participants from the Longitudinal Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior project: Subsample 1 (n = 697) at ages 9–10 and 19–20 years and Subsample 2 (n = 394) at ages 14–15 and 19–20 years. Linear and logistic regressions showed that empathy moderated the association between resting heart rate in adolescence and externalizing behavior by young adulthood. Among individuals with low but not high levels of empathy, increased resting heart rate predicted lower levels of externalizing behavior. Interventions enhancing empathic skills in individuals with psychophysiological risk profiles could be beneficial.

BACKGROUND: Lower autonomic arousal is a well-known correlate of criminal offending and other risk-taking behaviors in men, but few studies have investigated this association in women.

AIM: To test associations between autonomic arousal and criminal offending as well as unintentional injuries among female conscripts.

METHODS: All women born 1958-1994 in Sweden who participated in voluntary military conscription (n = 12,499) were identified by linking Swedish population-based registers. Predictors were resting heart rate (RHR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Covariates were height, weight, and physical energy capacity. Main outcomes were criminal convictions (any, violent, and non-violent) from the National Crime Register. Secondary outcome was unintentional injuries requiring medical treatment or causing death. We used survival analyses to test for associations between predictors and outcomes.

RESULTS: Low RHR, relative to high RHR, was associated with an increased risk of any criminal conviction, non-violent criminal convictions, and unintentional injuries. Low SBP, relative to high SBP, was associated with an increased risk of violent criminal convictions.

CONCLUSIONS: Results support lower autonomic arousal, particularly lower RHR, as a correlate of criminal offending among women that warrants further examination, as the reported findings have potential implications for the prediction of future female crime.