Dan-Erik Andersson

What Role Do Changes in the Demographic Composition Play in the Declining Trends in Alcohol Consumption and the Increase of Non-drinkers Among Swedish Youth? A Time-series Analysis of Trends in Non-drinking and Region of Origin 1971–2012

Aim Non-drinkers among youth in Sweden have increased markedly during the last 15 years. The aim of this study is to investigate the temporal association between region of origin among Swedish youth and rates of non-drinking. Data and method Data on non-drinkers were obtained from The Swedish Council on Information and Other drugs (CAN) yearly school surveys among Swedish ninth-grade students over the period 1971–2013. Annual data of region of origin for 1968–2012 has been compiled from Statistics Sweden (SCB) and consists of all 15-year-olds in Sweden and their region of birth; Sweden, The Nordic Countries, Europe, The Middle East and the rest of the world. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) modelling was applied in order to estimate these associations. Results Descriptive results revealed a change in the demography of Swedish 15- to 16-year-olds. In the early 1990s 1% of Swedish 15- to 16–year-olds were born in a Middle East country, this proportion increased to 6% in 2012. Furthermore, those born in the rest of the world (non-European or non-Nordic countries) increased from 1% to almost 4%. Similarly, the trend of non-drinkers increased from about 20% to more than 40% among Swedish 15- to 16-year-olds during the same period. However, a more thorough analysis using ARIMA modelling revealed no significant association between rates of region of origin and non-drinking. Conclusion The marked increase in non-drinkers during the last 15 years is not associated to changes in the demographic composition, in terms of region of origin, among Swedish youth.

Teaching the History of Human Rights

Textbooks on human rights often describe the history of human rights as a linear process, where human rights rest on a rather unified history. In this history, the idea of Enlightenment is a central component, leading to the understanding of human rights, as we know them. This article argues that the common presentation of the history of human rights in some central textbooks is highly problematic, not least on the relation between religion and human rights. Even though a simplified narrative to some extent makes it easier to promote human rights, instead of repeating a simplified history there is need to present the history in its complexity. This article gives examples of how the relation between religion and human rights is more complicated than most often argued. The judicial and educational context of the paper is the situation in Sweden.