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The public memory of the social democratic welfare state in Sweden often emphasizes housing, but in fact post-war planning was far more diverse. One asset which postwar planning developed over time was a landscape that materialized a range of different concerns over welfare. Even today, the impressive investments in recreational facilities and green spaces made during the high point of welfarist planning in Sweden still provides the backbone of Sweden's recreational infrastructure and areas for outdoor leisure and play. This paper highlights 'leisure planning' as a forgotten aspect of the postwar decades, and argues that the relationship between urban planning and leisure planning speaks to the patchwork character of the welfare landscape and explains why it remains elusive or even invisible in the current debate. We illustrate the making of welfare landscapes by analyzing developments in Upplands Väsby municipality, focusing on the complex interplay between leisure planning and urban planning from the 1950s to the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting has a unique status as a sport and leisure activity alongside its practices having high stakes for society related to ecology, biosecurity, animal welfare and public safety. As such, hunting must increasingly legitimate itself before the public both in terms of ethically justifiable motivations for why to hunt and ethical standards for how to hunt. One way in which public acceptance has been sought in recent years has been to frontline 'women hunters' as the hunting community's indirect ambassadors. An effort to recruit more women is also seen as imperative to the survival of hunting in a practical, demographic sense. When women enter hunting, they enter an arena that is opaque and difficult to navigate along with heavy baggage from gender roles, expectations about proximity to wildlife and nature, and masculine norms on behaviour. In this study, we demonstrate through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and auto-ethnography of a hunting license education in Sweden, how women navigate spaces carved out for men. The findings show traps of emphasised femininity, expectations of women as 'softening influences' on male hunters to rein in their potentially unethical behaviour, and as differentially positioned in the learning process of hunting. However, using Bourdieu's social capital, findings also reveal that women negotiate and trade attributes in creative ways – such as landownership, meat handling skills and knowledge – to gain an advantage, status or level the playing field. We argue that regardless of gender, being in a position of sufficient capital to be able to call out unethical behaviour in the hunting team is crucial insofar as it serves the hunting community's ultimate interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This study aimed to describe work-, lifestyle-, and health-related factors among ambulance personnel, and to analyse differences between women and men. Methods. The cross-sectional study (N = 106) included self-reported and objective measures of work, lifestyle, and health in 10 Swedish ambulance stations. The data collection comprised clinical health examination, blood samples, tests of physical capacity, and questionnaires. Results. A high proportion of the ambulance personnel reported heavy lifting, risk of accidents, threats and violence at work. A low level of smoking and alcohol use, and a high level of leisure-time physical activity were reported. The ambulance personnel had, on average, good self-rated health, high work ability and high physical capacity. However, the results also showed high proportions with risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), e.g., high blood pressure, and high levels of blood lipids. More women than men reported high work demands. Furthermore, women performed better in tests of physical capacity and had a lower level of CVD risk factors. Conclusions. Exposure to work-related factors that might affect health was common among ambulance personnel. Lifestyle- and health-related factors were somewhat contradictory, with a low proportion reporting lifestyle-related risk factors, but a high proportion having risk factors for CVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden's school-age educare has been identified as important for children's access to play and meaningful leisure. However, research has not addressed asylum-seeking children's access to school-age educare or its potential role in asylum contexts. This article draws on data from a 1-year ethnographic fieldwork with children in a Swedish asylum context and explores asylum-seeking children's perspectives and experiences in a context of non-access to school-age educare. The article shows that the children attached positive meanings to school-age educare and were affected negatively by their exclusion from activities in these centres. The article discusses the potential role of school-age educare for children in asylum contexts and argues that school-age educare could play an important compensatory role for asylum-seeking children's overall living conditions, both in terms of care provision and in terms of possibilities for play and meaningful leisure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents' school performance is influenced by several factors and meaningful leisure time, especially organized activities, has great potential to impact academic results. Therefore, this study aimed to gain a greater understanding of how community actors perceive meaningful leisure time and how they work to create meaningful leisure time with the intention of increasing the chances for more adolescents completing upper secondary school. Semistructured interviews with 14 informants, representing nine different community actors in a middle-sized city in Sweden, were conducted and analysed using content analysis. Results suggest that meaningful leisure time positively impacts adolescents' mental health through social relations, support, and guidance. Leisure is believed to have spillover effects on reducing stress, manage school demands and performance. Nevertheless, leisure time activities and school performance must be balanced with time and effort. Community actors work proactively with availability, individual approaches, and offering activities to create meaning. From a societal perspective, places to hang out with supportive adults, in particular structured activities, should be regarded as a social investment in adolescents' health and prospects, especially in deprived areas where fewer activities are available. Finally, ensuring meaningful leisure time is in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence suggests that regular physical activity (PA) positively impacts individuals' mental health (MH). The PA-MH relationship may be critical among immigrants owing to psycho-social-cultural influences. This scoping review of 61 studies employed a holistic bio-psycho-socio-cultural framework to thoroughly investigate the complex relationship between PA (across life domains) and immigrants' MH in Western countries. A systematic search of five electronic databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Anthropology Plus) was conducted to locate relevant articles. No limitations were applied to study design, age, gender, home country, MH condition or PA type. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed conceptual model guided the analysis of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship. Immigrant PA-MH studies were conducted and reported most commonly in the USA (38%), Australia (18%), and Canada (11%). Overall, PA was positively related to MH. Each domain-specific PA appeared to be associated with unique MH-promoting pathways/mechanisms. Leisure-related PA may support MH by enhancing self-agency and minimizing risky behaviors, whilst travel- and domestic-related PA may promote self-accomplishment and physical engagement. Ethnic sports appeared to enhance resilience. Occupational-related PA was associated with either positive or negative MH, depending on the type of occupation. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed model is required to gain an encompassing and integrated understanding of immigrants' health. The first iteration of such a model is presented here, along with an illustration of how the model may be used to deepen analysis and understanding of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship among immigrants and inform public health planners and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• It is common to observe recreational activities at Scandinavian cemeteries. • Slow-paced and silent recreational uses are more acceptable than high-paced ones. • The purpose of the activities determines if they are perceived as acceptable or not. • Religious or cultural belongings partially explain variations in acceptable activities. • Earmarking activity zones can help avoid conflicts between the different users. Across Scandinavia, we witness an increased interest in making provisions for urban cemeteries to evolve as recreational landscapes. However, this development comes with its own set of challenges when uniting its primary function as a place for disposal of human remains with active and passive urban recreation. In this paper, we explore varying perspectives on recreational use of cemeteries to give a nuanced picture of the possibilities and limitations for recreation at cemeteries in a multicultural society, most often positioned within a context of densifying urban areas. The empirical data consists of interviews with cemetery users (N = 24) from various faiths and belief systems in three towns in Norway and Sweden. Findings reveal that passive recreational activities like strolling, having a cup of coffee on a bench in the cemetery etc. are in general perceived as acceptable behaviour. However, opinions differ on 'active' undertakings like running, biking and walking a dog. How people perceive or use cemeteries is partly dependent on beliefs and cultural traditions, but other factors such as the purpose of using the cemetery for recreation and the type or character of the cemetery also impact the extent to which activities are perceived as appropriate or not. Respect and intensity are two key aspects that emerged in our analysis. The study concludes that the existing peaceful atmosphere at cemeteries should be preserved and nurtured. With correct design and zoning, some recreational activities can be integrated at cemeteries, benefiting both mourners and recreational visitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship with place has been recognized as a significant dimension of rural youth leisure, both through the discursive constructions of place, but also as affective and embodied dimensions. This study captures these processes by applying the concept of place-making as a set of recurrent discursive processes, analyzing how girls in Northern Sweden engage in place-making alongside, beyond, and in contrast to dominant discourses on leisure, rurality and wellbeing. The study draws on data from photo-elicited focus groups with girls from two sports organizations. The discursive psychology analysis resulted in three interpretative repertoires. The first repertoire describes the sharp contrast between discourses of the 'rural dull' and how stressful the participants constructed their own places of leisure. The second illustrates the gendered discourses around what is considered to be productive and respectable leisure. The third shows how the participants are made responsible for the survival of their leisure. Through place-making, the participants shape places of leisure, affecting both themselves and their rural community. They engage in, conform to, and challenge place-making within discourses of responsibility and precariousness, creating space for their own initiatives, which are simultaneously shaped by the material conditions under which these practices take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how similarity in work-family related attitudes matter for relationship satisfaction and union dissolution among Swedish couples. It utilizes a data set from 2009 (the Young Adult Panel Study) containing information on 1055 opposite-sex couples (married or co-residential), and registered union dissolutions up to 2014. Results indicate that couples who have similar notions on the importance of being successful at work; on the importance of having children; or on the importance of having enough time for leisure activities are more likely to be satisfied with their partner relationship than couples who have dissimilar attitudes. However, there are no effects of similarity in attitudes regarding the importance of living in a good partner relationship or doing well economically on relationship satisfaction, and we do not find any impact of similarity in attitudes of any kind on actual breakups. We find no support for specialization theory, which would predict that dissimilarity in work orientation would increase relationship quality. The study concludes that having similar priorities regarding work, career, and family does seem to matter for relationship quality, at least when it comes to the partners' satisfaction with the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate associations between participation in leisure-time organised physical activity (LTOPA) and dietary intake in a large representative sample of Swedish adolescents participating in the national dietary survey Riksmaten Adolescents 2016–2017. A sample of 2807 participants aged 11–12, 14–15 and 17–18 years were included. Information about LTOPA and dietary intake were collected through questionnaires and two 24-hour recalls on the web (RiksmatenFlex). For dietary intake, overall healthy eating index, intake of fruit, vegetables, candy, sugar-sweetened beverages, and the proportion of added sugar to total energy intake were analysed. Significance-testing for associations was performed with analysis of covariance. LTOPA was associated with lower sugar-sweetened beverages intake among adolescent boys (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.012) and girls (p = 0.007, ηp2 = 0.005), higher fruit intake among boys (p = 0.043, ηp2 = 0.003), and lower vegetable intake among girls (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.009). However, LTOPA was unrelated to the overall healthy eating index, candy intake, and the proportion of added sugar to total energy intake (p > 0.05). LTOPA was only associated with some healthy eating behaviours, and there is much room for improvement in the diets of Swedish adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Changes in the everyday life and health of the significant others (SOs) of people living with stroke sequalae have been widely investigated. However, information regarding the frequency of the changes in daily life and the variables most associated with these perceived life changes is limited. Aims: To examine the extent to which SOs of persons with aphasia (PWAs) experience changes in everyday life and health after the stroke event and how they evaluate these changes and to identify which variables are associated with these perceived life changes. Methods & Procedures: A study-specific questionnaire about perceived changes in everyday life and health was completed by 173 SOs of PWAs living in Sweden (response rate 67.8%). The items concerned the SO's working and financial situation, leisure time and social life, relationship with the PWA, household work and responsibility, and health and quality of life. Outcomes & Results: The everyday life and health of the SOs were greatly affected by the stroke event. The changes the SOs experienced were mainly appraised negatively. The relationships with the PWA and immediate family were least affected by the stroke. The perceived existence and severity of physical, cognitive, and language impairments of the PWA were the variables most strongly associated with the everyday life situation of the participants. The sex and age of the participants and the nature of the relationship with the PWA were only marginally associated with the experience of the situation. Conclusions: SOs' perceptions of the PWA's stroke-related disabilities and need for assistance may be a key factor in identifying SOs who may require support and guidance to help them cope with their new life situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]