Dissertation March 20, 2015: Amir Sariaslan "Exploring the causal nature of neighbourhood influences on violent criminality, substance misuse and psychiatric morbidity"

On March 20 2015 Amir Sariaslan will defend his thesis "Exploring the causal nature of neighbourhood influences on violent criminality, substance misuse and psychiatric morbidity". His opponent is Professor Carol Prescott from the University of Southern California and his supervisors are Paul Lichtenstein, Niklas Långström and Johan Franck.

Amirs har studied if individuals who live in socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods, particularly in urban settings, experience elevated risk of being convicted of violent criminality, to engage in substance misuse and to be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. The causal nature of these associations is questioned in the literature because previous studies have insufficiently accounted for genetic and environmental risks shared within families. The aim of the dissertation was therefore to explore the etiological relevance of neighborhoods in these traits by combining quasi-experimental, family-based research designs with nationwide Swedish registry data.

Time and place: 9:00 am on March 20, 2015 in the lecture hall Atrium, Nobels väg 12B, Solna Campus.