Gang violence in Gothenburg affects all residents in the city in some way and a group that according to child psychologist Johan Hagborg can be hit hard is children and young people - especially those who live in areas that the police call "vulnerable and particularly vulnerable" and where the majority of fatal shootings also occurred.

- Children who grow up among lethal violence have a greater need for someone who is very strong and protective.

And this increases the risk that criminal gangs later take advantage of that need, says child psychologist Johan Hagborg who works in Gothenburg.

Major societal problem

For eleven years, Johan Hagborg has worked as a psychologist and targeted children who have experienced violence.

According to him, this has become a major problem for the whole society, as the deadly violence both increases and is more visible to the children.

- If the children do not get the right help, it can have serious consequences.

Children with trauma also find it easier to end up in drug abuse to escape difficult and strong emotions, says Johan Hagborg.

In the clip below you can hear Johan Hagborg's tips on how to talk to children:

Javascript is disabled

Javascript must be turned on to play video

Read more about browser support

The browser is not supported

SVT does not support playback in your browser.

We therefore recommend that you switch to another browser.

Read more about browser support

Johan Hagborg, child psychologist in Gothenburg.

Photo: Photo: Dennis Franco / SVT