The purpose of the present study was to characterize the soundscape of the Valley Gardens in Brighton before the area is converted into a downtown park. Valley Gardens is located in the busy city centre. It extends from the Brighton Pier at the seafront and approximately 1.5 km to the north. It includes Old Stein, Victoria Gardens, St Peter’s Church, and The Level. In 2015 work will commence on redeveloping Victoria Gardens and St Peter’s Church. In order to characterize the soundscape of the Valley Gardens prior to this urban design intervention a soundwalk was conducted. In October 2014, a group of 21 persons -experts in acoustics and officers of the City Council- were guided through the area together, and assessed the soundscape at eight sites: five within the Valley Gardens and three reference sites. The assessments covered the soundscape quality, how appropriate the soundscape is to the place, the dominance of perceived sound sources, and the affective quality of the soundscape. In addition, binaural recordings and sound-level measurements were conducted at each of the eight sites during the soundwalk. Preliminary results indicate that the Valley Gardens was dominated by the sound of road traffic, and that the soundscape was perceived as inappropriate to the place. Consequently, the planned design intervention should reduce the dominance of road-traffic sound and introduce more positive sounds, like the sound of people and nature. This would be done through careful planning of the landscape and human activities within the area. The plan is to follow-up these results with a post-intervention soundwalk.

The degree of abnormality and rate of change in cognitive functions, positron emission tomography Pittsburg compound B (PET PIB), and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) measures were studied for 8 years in an autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patient, who died 61 years old (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score 7). At first encounter with medical care, the patient was very mildly demented (MMSE score 27). She had four cognitive assessments and two examinations with PET PIB and FDG in 23 bilateral brain regions. The onset of cognitive decline was retrospectively estimated to have started in the early forties. The degree of impairment was inversely related to the rate of decline. A similar relationship was seen between the rate of change and the level of abnormality in both PIB and FDG. To conclude, rate of change in cognition, PIB, and FDG was associated with the degree of abnormality.

The major aims of this study were to examine (1) the association between fear of hypoglycemia (FOH) in adults with type 1 diabetes with demographic, psychological (anxiety and depression), and disease-specific clinical factors (hypoglycemia history and unawareness, A(1c)), including severe hypoglycemia (SH), and (2) differences in patient subgroups categorized by level of FOH and risk of SH. Questionnaires were mailed to 764 patients with type 1 diabetes including the Swedish translation of the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey (HFS) and other psychological measures including the Perceived Stress Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Social Phobia Scale, and Fear of Complications Scale. A questionnaire to assess hypoglycemia history was also included and A(1c) measures were obtained from medical records. Statistical analyses included univariate approaches, multiple stepwise linear regressions, Chi-square t tests, and ANOVAs. Regressions showed that several clinical factors (SH history, frequency of nocturnal hypoglycemia, self-monitoring) were significantly associated with FOH but R (2) increased from 16.25 to 39.2 % when anxiety measures were added to the model. When patients were categorized by level of FOH (low, high) and SH risk (low, high), subgroups showed significant differences in non-diabetes-related anxiety, hypoglycemia history, self-monitoring, and glycemic control. There is a strong link between FOH and non-diabetes-related anxiety, as well as hypoglycemia history. Comparison of patient subgroups categorized according to level of FOH and SH risk demonstrated the complexity of FOH and identified important differences in psychological and clinical variables, which have implications for clinical interventions.

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate fear of hypoglycemia (FoH) longitudinally in adult patients with type 1 diabetes. Specifically, we investigated two subgroups of patients who over four years either showed a significantly higher or significantly lower level of FoH in order to identify factors associated with changes in FoH.

Method

The Swedish version of the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey (HFS) along with a questionnaire to assess hypoglycemia history (mild, moderate, nocturnal and severe hypoglycaemia (SH), unawareness, and daytime/nocturnal self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG)) were sent by mail to 764 patients in 2010. The responders in 2010 (n=469) received another set of the same two questionnaires in 2014. A1c, insulin regimen, weight and creatinine from 2010 and 2014 were obtained from medical records. Those with an absolute difference in HFS scores ≥ 75th percentile were included in the subgroup analyses. Statistical analyses included one-sample t-tests and chi-square.

Results

The absolute difference in the HFS total score (n=359) between 2010 and 2014 was m=±7.6, SD ±6 (range -29 - +35). In the subgroup with increased FoH 2014 (n=45), more patients reported unawareness (76% vs 58%, Χ²= 5.05, p= 0.025) and a higher frequency of moderate hypoglycemia (52% v s 38%, Χ²= 3.93, p= 0.047) compared to 2010. In the group with decreased FoH (n=43), fewer patients reported going to the emergency department due to hypoglycemia in 2014 compared to 2010 (2% vs 14%, Χ²= 4.84, p= 0.028). There were no differences in the remaining hypoglycemia history variables or medical variables between 2010 and 2014. Between group analyzes show that in the decreased FoH group more patients have a high frequency of daily SMBG compared to the increased FoH group in 2010 (35% vs 17%, Χ²= 12.23, p= 0.00) and in 2014 (33% vs 13%, Χ²= 13.75, p= 0.00). In the increased FoH group more patients report a high level of mild (67% vs 49%,Χ²= 6.4, p= 0.011) and moderate (52% vs 23%,Χ²= 14.00, p= 0.00) hypoglycemic episodes as well as unawareness (76% vs 54%,Χ²= 11.37, p= 0.001) in 2014 compared with the decreased FoH group.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study of FoH in patients with type 1 diabetes. Our study shows that FoH is stable across time for most patients although a number of patients show increased or decreased levels of FoH. The patients whose level of FoH increased experienced a higher frequency of moderate hypoglycemic episodes and more hypoglycemic unawareness in 2014.

Organisationer behöver kvalificerad personal för att fungera effektivt och därmed blir rekrytering en viktig aktivitet. Det är också angeläget att ny personal anpassar sig väl till arbetsförhållandena. Syftet med denna avhandling var att tydliggöra möjligheterna att genom urval bidra till en långsiktigt hållbar rekrytering för organisation, individ och samhälle.

Avhandlingen omfattar tre delstudier och baseras på data från rekrytering av nya poliser i Sverige. En kohort har följts från urvalet av de sökande till polisutbildningen våren 2008 (N = 1 344) över tre uppföljningstillfällen (N = 717–729), nämligen vid slutet av två års polisutbildning, vid slutet av sex månaders aspirantutbildning och vid slutet av det första anställningsåret.

Studie I syftade till att undersöka möjligheterna att välja ut de sökande som är mest lämpade att bli poliser genom att kombinera information från flera urvalsmetoder. Vanligtvis används intervjuer för att i slutet av urvalsprocessen välja ut de mest lämpade kandidaterna. Analyser med flera kriterier på framgångsrik rekrytering (prestation, tillfredsställelse med utbildning respektive arbete, vilja att stanna i yrket och hälsa) vid de tre uppföljningstillfällen, visade att ett alternativt förfarande – att kombinera information från urvalsmetoder som i tidigare steg använts för att sålla bort olämpliga sökande – hade högre prognosförmåga. Det handlade om information från begåvningstest, personlighetstest och konditionstest. Ett sådant förfarande kan också vara mer tillförlitligt och resurseffektivt. Vid urval av poliser bör intervjuer däremot främst ses som ett verktyg för att sålla bort olämpliga kandidater.

Studie II syftade till att öka förståelsen för hur resultat från begåvningstest ska tolkas och användas vid urval. För de flesta yrken, inklusive polisyrket, har begåvningstest visats vara en av de urvalsmetoder som bäst predicerar prestation. Det har förklarats med effekter av generell begåvning. Resultaten från Studie II visade dock att utöver generell begåvning kan också en verbal och kunskapsladdad komponent antas viktig för att predicera prestation. Samtidigt gav studien stöd för att vid urval använda en samlad totalpoäng från begåvningstest.

Studie III syftade till att undersöka den relativa betydelsen av urvalsfaktorer som personlighet och begåvning respektive den psykosociala arbetsmiljön för nya polisers arbetsrelaterade attityder och hälsa efter det första anställningsåret. Studien visade att arbetsmiljöfaktorer, såsom möjligheter till utveckling och återkoppling i arbetet samt rimlig arbets­belastning, var betydligt viktigare än urvalsfaktorer för nya polisers anpassning till arbetsförhållandena i yrket.

Sammanfattningsvis visar föreliggande avhandling att det är meningsfullt att över tid beakta flera kriterier på framgångsrik rekrytering. Den visar också att information från flera urvalsmetoder bör kombineras för att välja ut de mest lämpade kandidaterna. Vidare visar avhandlingen på värdet av att använda verbalt laddade begåvningstest vid urval. Förmågan att predicera framgång i polisyrket med olika urvalsmetoder är dock måttlig. Avhandlingen visar däremot att arbetsförhållandena för ny personal kan ha avgörande betydelse. Det betyder att organisationer som strävar efter hållbar rekrytering bör prioritera både urval och sunda arbetsförhållanden för ny personal. Det gäller inte minst polisorganisationer där kostnaderna för rekrytering är höga.

Hur ska de som är bäst lämpade väljas ut bland alla de som söker sig till polisyrket? Inom den nordiska polisforskningen har den frågan sällan belysts utifrån ett urvalsmetodologiskt perspektiv, men två konferensbidrag från projektet Longitudinell validering av polisurvalet bidrar till att täcka detta glapp. De aktuella studierna utgår från ett internationellt perspektiv på polisurval och omfattar data från antagningen till den svenska polisutbildningen och tre uppföljningstillfällen. Den ena studien (Studie 1) visar att en multimetodansats, med metoder som återspeglar polisarbetets mångfacetterade karaktär, kan antas vara den mest framgångrika urvalsmodellen. Den andra studien (Studie 2) fokuserar på betydelsen av kognitiva förmågor, och visar att utöver generell begåvning har verbal förmåga och kunskap betydelse för prestation under polisutbildningen.

Purpose – The cost of selecting and training new police officers is high. However, previous researchhas provided limited guidance on how to select the best applicants. The purpose of this paper is toenhance the understanding of the possibilities to select suitable applicants by using combinations offour common categories of selection methods, namely cognitive tests, personality inventories, physicaltests, and rater-based methods (i.e. interviews).

Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of Swedish police recruits (n¼750) the authorsperformed hierarchical multiple regression analyses, predicting four criteria – performance, satisfaction,retention, and health – at three consecutive time points (after two years of academy training, after sixmonths of field training, and after the first work year).

Findings – No group of selection methods consistently predicted all four criteria at the three timepoints. In most analyses more than one class of selection methods were statistically significant, but thefindings did not support the use of rater-based methods.

Practical implications – Instead of the common praxis of using interviews, the findings suggest analternative praxis. This involves using the remaining information from cognitive tests, personalityinventories, and general fitness tests that had been used in earlier hurdles to screen out unsuitable applicants.

Originality/value – The study extends previous research by including several follow-ups, showingthe value of combining different selection methods, and using alternative criteria of successful policerecruitment (i.e. satisfaction, retention, and health).

Artikeln beskriver ett uppdragsperspektiv på arbete, det vill säga en fokusering på hur ett arbetsuppdrag formas och är sammansatt med avseende på resurser och krav med betydelse för att kunna genomföra uppdraget på ett bra sätt. I studien undersöks hur förutsättningarna för att utföra arbetet, i termer av arbetskrav och resurser i arbetet, hänger samman med återhämtning inom välfärdstjänstearbete i två kommuner. Uppdragsförutsättningarna har ett relativt högt förklaringsvärde gentemot återhämtning men de ingående variablerna bidrar i olika grad.

I både Sverige och Norge baseras sjukersättningarna på principen om inkomstbortfall, som ger sjukskrivna ersättning i förhållande till arbetsinkomsten. Men länderna skiljer sig också åt vilket möjliggör intressanta jämförelser och analyser. I Norge är exempelvis ersättningsnivån 100 procent från första dagen jämfört med 80 procent i Sverige, som också har en karensdag. Frågor som tas upp gäller bland annat hur sjukskrivna upplever sin vardagstillvaro, omgivningens acceptans för sjukskrivning, sjuknärvaro, stigmatisering, framtidstro och synen på hjälpapparat och myndigheter. Boken är värdefull vid utbildningar inom socialt arbete och är intressant i den debatt om sjukfrånvaro som pågår i samhället. Den bygger på ett svensk-norskt forskningsprojekt och använder såväl kvalitativa som kvantitativa data.

Psykiska och muskuloskeletala besvär har länge varit de vanligaste orsakerna till långtidssjukskrivning i Sverige och en stor del av västvärlden. Åtgärder som reducerar tiden för återgång i arbete (RTW) skulle därför betyda mycket både för människors livskvalitet och för samhällets kostnader.

Föreliggande rapport utgör en internationell kunskapssammanställning, som bygger på en systematisk översikt av metaanalyser av interventioner för återgång i arbete i samband med psykiska och muskuloskeletala besvär. En litteratursökning i relevanta databaser fr o m 1995 genomfördes under januari-februari 2015 och resulterade i 17 relevanta översiktsartiklar av tillräckligt hög vetenskaplig kvalitet, baserade på drygt 350 kontrollerade randomiserade (RCT) originalstudier med ca 45000 deltagare. Elva översiktsartiklar gällde muskuloskeletala besvär (varav 9 ryggbesvär), 3 psykiska besvär och 3 blandade besvär. Resultaten visar ett mönster enligt vilket multimodala interventioner med både fysiska, psykiska och medicinska inslag, och särskilt i kombination med insatser på arbetsplatsen, bidrar mest till RTW, minskad sjukfrånvaro eller ökad arbetsförmåga i samband med ryggbesvär och blandade besvär. Det vetenskapliga underlaget för multimodala interventioner mot psykiska besvär för RTW eller minskad sjukfrånvaro var otillräckligt för att kunna dra några säkra slutsatser. De fysiska inslagen i multimodal intervention handlar om fysisk aktivitet, träning och sjukgymnastik, de psykiska inslagen huvudsakligen om beteendeterapi (KBT) och de medicinska om medicinering. Insatser på arbetsplatsen handlar om att förbereda den sjukfrånvarande för återgång i arbete, arbetsträning, anpassning av arbetsplatsen och arbetsuppgifterna, arbetsmiljön och ergonomi. Psykisk terapi som enskild komponent utan stöd av andra terapiformer bidrar ofta till ökat psykiskt välbefinnande och minskad smärta, men tycks inte nämnvärt bidra till återgång i arbete. En uppföljande litteratursökning bland originalstudier från 2013 gav 8 relevanta studier av tillräckligt hög kvalitet, 6 av dessa rörde psykiska besvär. Resultaten från dessa var heterogena och ändrar inte slutsatserna från den mer omfattande analysen av översiktsstudier. Slutsatserna från denna kunskapssammanställning är att multimodala interventioner som även omfattar insatser på arbetsplatsen är mer effektiva för RTW än andra enskilda insatser eller sedvanlig behandling vad gäller ryggbesvär och blandade besvär. Flera av öv ersiktsartiklarna pekar också på att insatserna bör sättas in relativt tidigt. Frågor om vilka specifika insatser som är mest effektiva, exakt när de bör sättas in och när de förväntas ge bäst resultat får inget klart svar i de granskade översiktsanalyserna. En mer ingående analys av genomförda originalstudier skulle möjligen bidra till att öka kunskapen om detta.

Syftet var att undersöka stigma- och skamupplevelser bland långtidssjukskrivna i psykiska och muskuloskeletala diagnoser och om upplevelserna skiljer sig diagnoserna mellan. 2300 personer besvarade en enkät och på basis av enkätsvar bildades även en grupp med båda slagen av besvär. Bland de med psykiatriska och kombinationsdiagnoser tillhörde 33 respektive 34% hög-skamgruppen jämfört med 10% bland de med muskuloskeletala diagnoser. Ju fler tidigare sjukskrivningar desto större andel upplevde skam och stigma och desto vanligare att se förtidspension som en realistisk framtid. Nivåskillnaderna var stora. Bland de med psykiatriska diagnoser och hög grad av stigma var det 16%, som angav förtidspensionsalternativet jämfört med 31% bland de med muskuloskeletal diagnos och 39% bland de med kombinationsdiagnos.

The workplace has been suggested as an important arena for health promotion, but little is known about how the organizational setting influences the implementation of interventions. The aims of this study are to evaluate implementation fidelity in an organizational-level occupational health intervention and to investigate possible explanations for variations in fidelity between intervention units. The intervention consisted of an integration of health promotion, occupational health and safety, and a system for continuous improvements (Kaizen) and was conducted in a quasi-experimental design at a Swedish hospital. Implementation fidelity was evaluated with the Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity and implementation factors used to investigate variations in fidelity with the Framework for Evaluating Organizational-level Interventions. A multi-method approach including interviews, Kaizen notes, and questionnaires was applied. Implementation fidelity differed between units even though the intervention was introduced and supported in the same way. Important differences in all elements proposed in the model for evaluating organizational-level interventions, i.e., context, intervention, and mental models, were found to explain the differences in fidelity. Implementation strategies may need to be adapted depending on the local context. Implementation fidelity, as well as pre-intervention implementation elements, is likely to affect the implementation success and needs to be assessed in intervention research. The high variation in fidelity across the units indicates the need for adjustments to the type of designs used to assess the effects of interventions. Thus, rather than using designs that aim to control variation, it may be necessary to use those that aim at exploring and explaining variation, such as adapted study designs.

The Swedish Soundscape-Quality Protocol has been criticized for being insufficient, because it proposes to assess soundscape quality by a Good–Bad Scale, and alternatively by eight attribute scales assessing the perceived affective quality of a soundscape. Critics argue that further alternative definitions of ‘soundscape quality’ must be explored. In particular they argue for assessing ‘soundscape quality’ by asking to what extent a soundscape is appropriate to a place. The Sound Cities project at School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, in the UK, investigated this issue by a listening experiment involving 50 university students and 25 urban and peri-urban areas from the UK. The results indicate that the Good–Bad Scale is correlated with the perceived affective quality of a soundscape. Conversely, the appropriateness of a soundscape to a place is orthogonal to the former two assessments and provides additional information. Thus, a soundscape can be appropriate to a place even though it is poor. This raises the issue of which information should be given priority. Probably the best recommendation is to assess soundscape by perceived affective quality. In addition, it is possible to complement this assessment by assessing the appropriateness of the soundscape to the place. However, the latter assessment should not be used on its own, as this may lead to unfortunate conclusions.

With changing practices in urban planning, moving away from thinking of the city primarily in terms of infrastructure towards a growing appreciation of the city as a stage for social interaction, the human scale is all more important in urban design. What do the citizens need, and how would they like the city to be? Soundscape research focuses on these issues with regards to the acoustic environment, aiming to develop knowledge, tools and strategies. Central purposes of soundscapes studies are to describe, evaluate, change or to design/create acoustic environments. The aim is to promote health, well-being and quality of life. Because soundscape concerns how people perceive, experience or understand the acoustic environment the human scale is taken into account by definition. This paper will discuss questions that are central to soundscape theory and its application in an increasingly dense urban environment.

Architects and urban planners request guidelines with regards to soundscape design. In 2013 staff and students at the University of Sheffield, UK, were invited to take part in an electronic survey to investigate what kinds of urban open spaces that they prefer, and how these spaces should be designed with regards to soundscape. Respondents were asked to freely name their favourite outdoor place in Sheffield, and to what extent they found a list of 45 social and recreational activities, as well as a list of 40 sound sources appropriate for this place. A total of 935 individuals completed the questionnaire. A hierarchical cluster analysis of the 45 social and recreational activities revealed three main categories of favourite outdoor places: ‘Urban Park’, ‘City Centre’, and ‘My Space’. For ‘Urban Park’ natural sounds were appropriate when clearly audible, sounds of individuals when moderately audible, sounds of crowds when slightly audible, and technological sounds when inaudible. For ‘City Centre’ sounds of individuals were appropriate when moderately audible, whereas natural sounds, and sounds of crowds were appropriate when slightly audible. Technological sounds were appropriate when inaudible. For ‘My Space’ natural sounds and sounds of individuals were appropriate when moderately audible, whereas sounds of crowds and technological sounds were appropriate when inaudible. This kinds of profiles may serve as design guidelines for urban outdoor spaces with regards to soundscape, based on their social and recreational purposes.

This study analysed the reporting patterns of 22 sexually abused children and 23 physically abused children (all cases had been verified). Police interviews with the children were analysed in relation to the amount and type of information reported, as well as the frequency of denial and avoidance of critical information. Physically and sexually abused children reported more neutral information from the abusive acts per se than information regarding sexual or physically violent acts. The children were also high in avoidance and denial regarding information about the abuse. The physically abused children reported more severe information about physically abusive acts compared with the amount of information the sexually abused children reported about severe sexual acts. An explanation for this may have been the shameful and taboo nature of sexual abuse. It is important to undertake further investigation of how the nature and type of abuse, to which child witnesses have been exposed, may affect the reporting pattern. Such information may broaden our knowledge about how to conduct and evaluate child interviews.

Background: Elevated concentrations of plasma glucose appear to play a role in memory impairment, and it has been suggested that insulin might also have a negative effect on cognitive function. Our aim was to study whether glucose, insulin or insulin resistance are associated with episodic or semantic memory in a non-diabetic and non-demented population. Methods: We linked and matched two population-based data sets identifying 291 participants (127 men and 164 women, mean age of 50.7 +/- 8.0 years). Episodic and semantic memory functions were tested, and fasting plasma insulin, fasting plasma glucose, and 2-hour glucose were analysed along with other potential influencing factors on memory function. Since men and women display different results on memory functions they were analysed separately. Insulin resistance was calculated using the HOMA-IR method. Results: A higher fasting plasma glucose concentration was associated with lower episodic memory in women (r = -0.08, 95% CI -0.14; -0.01), but not in men. Plasma insulin levels and insulin resistance were not associated with episodic or semantic memory in women or in men after adjustments for age, fasting glucose, 2-hour glucose, BMI, education, smoking, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cholesterol, and physical activity. Conclusions: This indicates that fasting glucose but not insulin, might have impact on episodic memory in middle-aged women.

Background: The aim of this study was to follow up the 17 children, from a total group of 208 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who recovered from autism. They had been clinically diagnosed with ASD at or under the age of 4 years. For 2 years thereafter they received intervention based on applied behavior analysis. These 17 children were all of average or borderline intellectual functioning. On the 2-year follow-up assessment, they no longer met criteria for ASD. Methods: At about 10 years of age they were targeted for a new follow-up. Parents were given a semistructured interview regarding the child's daily functioning, school situation, and need of support, and were interviewed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) and the Autism - Tics, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and other Comorbidities (A-TAC) telephone interview. Results: The vast majority of the children had moderate-to-severe problems with attention/activity regulation, speech and language, behavior, and/or social interaction. A majority of the children had declined in their VABS scores. Most of the 14 children whose parents were A-TAC-interviewed had problems within many behavioral A-TAC domains, and four (29%) had symptom levels corresponding to a clinical diagnosis of ASD, AD/HD, or both. Another seven children (50%) had pronounced subthreshold indicators of ASD, AD/HD, or both. Conclusion: Children diagnosed at 2-4 years of age as suffering from ASD and who, after appropriate intervention for 2 years, no longer met diagnostic criteria for the disorder, clearly needed to be followed up longer. About 3-4 years later, they still had major problems diagnosable under the umbrella term of ESSENCE (Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations). They continued to be in need of support, educationally, from a neurodevelopmental and a medical point of view. According to parent interview data, a substantial minority of these children again met diagnostic criteria for ASD.

The objective was to investigate to which extent two groups of women with substance abuse problems were exposed to male violence; women with a residence (WR, n= 35) and homeless women (HW, n= 44). The sample thus included 79 women (mean age: 47.8 years), of which 91% had experienced different kinds of male violence: from former partners, male friends or acquaintances, and 71% reported “Countless occasions of violent events”.  Almost half of the women (46%) met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and HW displayed the higher risk (RR 3.78) as compared to WR. Furthermore, one-third of the abused women (26 out of 72) had been forced to commit criminal acts. Compared to the abused women without this experience, they were more likely: to be homeless, to be illicit drug addicts, to have reported parental alcohol and/or drug problems, to have witnessed domestic violence in childhood, and to have been victims of sexual abuse. Finally, the two groups significantly differed concerning ever having received treatment for mental problems, in that more WR women had received such treatment (74 % as compared to 46 %). In conclusion, it is suggested that experiences of male violence are to be considered in all different forms of treatment facilities for women with substance abuse problems.

This study has explored therapists' experiences of conducting cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) online and face-to-face. Eleven therapists partook in semi-structured interviews, which were thematically analysed using an abductive approach. The results indicate that the therapists viewed face-to-face therapy as a stronger experience than Internet-based CBT (ICBT), and the latter as being more manualised, but providing more work-time control. Several participants also thought that working alliance may be achieved faster and more easily in face-to-face therapy, and might worsen with fewer modalities of communication. Clinical implications in need of investigation are whether working with ICBT might buffer therapist exhaustion, and whether this therapy form can be improved by becoming less manual dependant in order to be easier to individualise.

This study has explored therapists' experiences of conducting cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) online and face-to-face. Eleven therapists partook in semi-structured interviews, which were thematically analysed using an abductive approach. The results indicate that the therapists viewed face-to-face therapy as a stronger experience than Internet-based CBT (ICBT), and the latter as being more manualised, but providing more work-time control. Several participants also thought that working alliance may be achieved faster and more easily in face-to-face therapy, and might worsen with fewer modalities of communication. Clinical implications in need of investigation are whether working with ICBT might buffer therapist exhaustion, and whether this therapy form can be improved by becoming less manual dependant in order to be easier to individualise.