Compulsory psychiatric care in Sweden: development 1979-2002 and area variation

As in many other countries, the Swedish legislation on compulsory psychiatric care has been revised several times during the last four decades. Great regional differences within the country in the use of compulsory psychiatric care have been reported. The aims of this study were to describe the development of compulsory psychiatric care in Sweden 1979-2002, and to analyse differences between two groups of counties, one group with high and one with low civil commitment rates, in terms of psychiatric care structure, resources and processes. Data on civil commitments and forensic psychiatric care in Sweden 1979-2002 were collected from public statistics. At least one responsible person in leading position (administrative manager or chief psychiatrist) in each of the included counties was interviewed. The total number of involuntarily hospitalised patients decreased about 80% between censuses in 1979 and 2002, but the rates of forensic patients were unchanged. No clear-cut differences were found in the analyses of structure, resources and processes of psychiatric services between counties with high and counties with low levels of compulsory care. The equality before the law may be questioned. The importance of leadership is emphasised for future analyses.     

A Father's Body,a Nation's Heart—Caregiving Fathers in Contemporary Norwegian Film

Norway is internationally known for progressive gender politics that have emancipated women and domesticated fathers. Norwegian films produced in the last decade articulate a conservative counter-discourse to this state-feminist discourse of women's progress. In contemporary Norwegian films, men subscribe to caregiving fatherhood in order to prove their (hetero)sexual prowess and earn social recognition. In addition, by pledging to become caregiving fathers, these often troubled and undisciplined men become worthy members of the Norwegian national community. A closer investigation of caregiving fatherhood will help us better understand how heteronormativity continues to proliferate even in Norway, where state feminism has come a long way.