Learning Networks Among Swedish Municipalities : Is Sweden a Small World?

Distributed, networked learning processes are widely touted as a basis for superior performance. Yet we know relatively little about how learning networks operate in the aggregate. We explore this issue by utilizing a unique data set on learning among Swedish municipalities. The data indicate that geographic proximity and county are the basic structuring properties of the global network. Municipalities learn from their near neighbors, especially from neighbors in the same county, and these two principles produce a high degree of local clustering in the municipal learning networks. At the same time, we also find evidence that Swedish municipalities are a small world linked together on a national basis. Two mechanisms knit the Swedish municipalities together. First, county seats serve as hubs that link local clusters together. Second, local clusters aggregate into regional clusters. Despite a high degree of local clustering, hubs and regions provide a structural basis for the national diffusion of policy ideas and practices among Swedish municipalities

Prevalence and Function of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in a Community Sample of Adolescents, Using Suggested DSM-5 Criteria for a Potential NSSI Disorder

Previous prevalence rates of non-suicidal self-injury(NSSI) in adolescents have varied considerably. In the present cross-sectional study, prevalence rates, characteristics and functions of NSSI were assessed in a large randomized community sample consisting of 3,060 (50.5 % female) Swedish adolescents aged 15–17 years. The suggested criteria for NSSI disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) were used to assess prevalence rates with the aim of arriving at a more precise estimate. Out of the whole sample, 1,088 (35.6 %) adolescents (56.2 % female) reported at least one episode of NSSI during the last year, of which 205 (6.7 %) met suggested DSM-5 criteria for a potential NSSI disorder diagnosis. The NSSI disorder diagnosis was significantly more common in girls (11.1 % vs. 2.3 %, χ2 (1, N=3046) = 94.08, p<0.001, cOR=5.43, 95 % CI [3.73, 7.90]). The NSSI disorder group consisted of significantly more smokers and drug users compared to adolescents with NSSI that did not meet DSM-5 criteria for NSSI disorder, and also differed concerning demographic variables. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on reported functions of NSSI, with the aim of validating Nock and Prinstein’s (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 72:885–890, 2004, Journal of Abnormal Psychology 114:140–146, 2005) four-factor model on a Swedish community sample, resulting in a close to acceptable fit. A two-factor model (social and automatic reinforcement) resulted in a slightly better fit. The most frequently reported factors were positive and negative automatic reinforcement. A majority of functions were significantly more often reported by girls than boys. The implications of the suggested DSM-5 criteria and reported functions are discussed