Editorial

Abstract

Summer has arrived to the Nordic countries and so has also Nordic Psychology arrived with a bright set of new articles beaming with scientific psychological insights. Articles in this journal issue include insights in elementary school teachers’ knowledge of autism, mentalization-based therapy, recidivism, transgender adults and reinforcement sensitivity theory. “A survey of Icelandic elementary school teachers’ knowledge and views of autism – Implications for educational practices” by Bjorn Gauti Bjornsson, Evald Saemundsen and Urdur Njardvik is the first article of this issue. By the use of an online questionnaire, the study researched Icelandic elementary school teachers’ knowledge and views of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The results disclosed that the teachers’ knowledge of effective teaching methods was fairly good but greater uncertainty was evident in the answers to statements related to the nature of ASDs. Teachers’ views on the suitability of special schools for children with ASDs differed but the majority agreed that their own education did not adequately cover the issues of teaching children with ASDs. Sebastian Simonsen, Sophie Juul, Mickey Kongerslev, Sune Bo, Espen Folmo and Karterud, Sigmund’s article “The Mentalization-Based Therapy Adherence and Quality Scale (MBT-AQS): Reliability in a Clinical Setting” is the second article of this issue. In this study, the authors researched whether a satisfying level of reliability on the Mentalization-Based Treatment Adherence and Quality Scale (MBT-AQS) could be obtained by experienced Mentalization-Based Therapy therapists in a clinical setting following a brief one-day training course. The overall reliabilities for six raters were good for adherence (0.67) and for quality (0.62). Thus, the MBT-AQS was found to be an appropriate Mentalization-Based Therapy adherence rating instrument with clinical and educational utility outside of the Norwegian Mentalization-Based Therapy Quality Lab. “Recidivism in criminal behaviour – a 10-year follow-up study of 45 adolescent boys identified as sex offenders” by Inga Tidefors, Sara Ingevaldson and Anneli Goulding is the third article of this issue. The study investigated the recidivism rate in a group of 45 men who committed their first sexual offence when they were adolescents. When committing the initial sexual offences during 2002–2005, the participants had a mean age of 16.2 years. The authors used data from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention about criminal offences committed during a 10-year follow-up period. The recidivism rate was 64.4%. The group that had committed new criminal offences had to a higher degree experienced parental separation, had an immigrant background, a higher degree of truancy, a higher degree of alcohol or drug abuse, and had at an early age been involved in other criminal offences than sexual ones. Katarina Alanko, Minna Aspn€as, Monica Ålgars, and Kenneth Sandnabba’s article “Coping in Narratives of Finnish Transgender Adults” is the fourth article of this journal issue. The aim of the study was to investigate experiences that tell about coping and resilience in the lives of nineteen Finnish transgender adults, aged 21–62. Results indicated three central sources of support: social relations, experiences of having a congruent gender and body identity, and meaningful leisure time. On an overall level, the results showed that transgender persons make use of a number of coping mechanisms, some general, and some with elements specifically connected to transitioning to live in the desired gender. The results of this study are of importance for understanding how to support transgender