Population Study: Violence, Health, and Life Outcomes 2025–2028
This government-commissioned project examines the prevalence of violence exposure in the adult Swedish population and how it affects health and life outcomes.
Population studies provide knowledge about how the extent and consequences of violence change over time. They also form a basis for evaluating interventions against violence and are central to Sweden’s work on international commitments, such as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
In 2014, NCK conducted the Violence and Health study, a population survey mapping women’s and men’s experiences of violence and the link to health. The results showed, among other things, that one-quarter of the adult population had experienced serious violence at some point in their lives, and that exposure to violence was associated with poorer health. Since then, no similar study has been conducted in Sweden.
NCK is now following up with a new population study. The aim is to examine exposure to violence in the adult population and how it relates to individuals’ physical, mental, and social health, as well as life outcomes. The project started in 2025 and is expected to continue until 2028. It involves researchers and specialists from multiple disciplines and aims to provide new and updated knowledge about the prevalence and forms of violence, which can inform future research, interventions, and policy. A final report is expected to be submitted to the commissioning authority at the end of 2027.
An important part of the project is also collaboration with other authorities, civil society, and academia, as well as disseminating the knowledge to the general public.
Data are collected through a population-based survey with a representative sample of people in Sweden. Survey data are combined with registry data to enable more in-depth analyses of the prevalence and impact of violence.
An advisory group of researchers from New Zealand, Norway, Finland and Sweden is affiliated with the study. The group contributes international perspectives and expertise. Within the framework of the study, collaboration also takes place with Swedish (e.g. the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention), European (e.g. EIGE) and international (e.g. the WHO and UNFPA) authorities and organisations to ensure the study’s international relevance.