Swedish ABA

By Dag Strömberg

The Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis (SWABA) had 239 members at the end of 2023, an 8% increase since 2022. The chapter continued its activity on social media; at the end of 2023, 1677 people were following SWABA on Facebook, a 3% increase since 2022. The association also has accounts on LinkedIn, Instagram and X (Twitter), all with an increasing number of followers.

SWABA’s fall meeting place took place October 21st 2023, in Stockholm, as a hybrid event. We enjoyed presentations by Peter Karlsson and Eva Thormann on a newly published book on positive behavior support in preschools, Sara Ingvarsson on deimplementation of ineffective health care interventions, Susanna Tagesdotter Hagstrand on integrative behavioral couples therapy, and Rasmi Krippendorf (Norway) on precision teaching and the standard celeration chart.

The annual meeting took place March 22nd 2024 in Stockholm, again a hybrid event. The day included a presentation/workshop on private events and behavior analysis by Niklas Törneke. Furthermore, the recipient of the fifth annual “SWABA-prize” was announced: as a recognition of her work to disseminate behavior analysis in Sweden, the prize was awarded to Malin Östh. During the year, the president of SWABA participated in a network that meets twice per year, connecting six different Swedish associations for behavior analysis, contextual behavior science and/or various types of behavior therapy, as well as a Swedish-speaking behavior therapy association in Finland.

SWABA was also participating in a collaboration between representatives from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), discussing quality assurance of behavior analysis within a Nordic context, including the establishment of the Nordic Association of Behavior Analysts, at a meeting in Copenhagen (Denmark) 26th January 2024. SWABA was represented at the 2024 ABAI Annual Convention in Philadelphia. As usual, a poster was presented at the ABAI Expo.

Our association supports the formation of special interest groups, providing information about each group on the website. This year the Certified Behavior Analysts SIG had meetings, while some of the other groups had contacts through social media.

SWABA would like to encourage anyone who plans to visit Sweden or other countries in Scandinavia to contact the board (info@swaba.se), to explore the possibility of meeting and/or lecturing. SWABA holds its annual meeting during the first quarter of each year and a fall meeting/conference in September or October. In September 2024, a meeting will take place in Gothenburg, including a presentation by Dr Francesca degli Espinosa. Please visit the SWABA website for updates concerning the program.