I’m an associate professor in criminology, with a PhD in social work. My research interests mainly revolve around societal control and discipline of young people with what is considered to be behavioural problems, and how gender and other power structures play a role in this. In particular, my research has concerned compulsory care and secure institutional care. Among other things, I have studied issues of care chains and aftercare for youth in secure care, everyday life and conditions for girls in secure care, and mapped the prevalence of sexual abuse in these settings.

I work with both quantitative and qualitative methods, and often use a gender perspective. I am particularly interested in questions about young femininities and how these are constructed in vulnerable life situations and in relation to disciplinary measures as well as to questions of normality and deviance.

At the moment I am involved in a number of different research projects. Together with colleagues at Umeå University and Karlstad University, I run two projects on girls' living conditions. One focuses on what it is like to grow up as a girl in deprived areas and the other concerns girls' involvement in criminal gangs. Together with colleagues at SU and Linnaeus University, I am also working on a project on the use of coercive measures in secure care institutions. I am also part of the research group for two different research programs, "The child's journey through the social child care" and "The social services' work with crime prevention". In 2025, me and a colleague will initiate a follow-up study of young adults with a history of compulsory care. In addition, I am a member of the steering committee for the Nordic research network FlickForsk!.