Kristina Berglund

Professor

Department of Psychology - Organisation, Health and Addiction

Telephone

+46 31-786 18 78

+46 766-18 18 78

Mail

kristina.berglund@psy.gu.se

Visiting address

Haraldsgatan 1

41314 Göteborg

Postal address

Box 500

40530 Göteborg

About Kristina Berglund

Background and Current Academic and Leadership Positions

PhD in Psychology (2009). Professor of Psychology. I am employed full-time as a senior lecturer and researcher at the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg. I serve as Director of the Centre for Education and Research on Addiction (CERA; https://www.gu.se/cera) at the University of Gothenburg. I am also the project leader of the interdisciplinary national research network NADAL (Network for Research on Alcohol and Drug Prevention in Working Life).

Teaching

I teach courses in addiction psychology at undergraduate and advanced levels and supervise students at the bachelor’s, master’s, and advanced master’s levels. I also teach courses in personality psychology.

Research

My primary areas of expertise within substance use, harmful use, and addiction concern advancing knowledge on how personality, developmental psychology, and mental health interact with risky substance use, the development of addiction, treatment outcomes, and key success factors in prevention. This research encompasses not only alcohol and drug use but also gambling and gaming-related problems.

Another major strand of my research focuses on the prevention of alcohol and drug use in working life, including both primary and secondary prevention.

Risky use, harmful use, and addiction constitute biopsychosocial phenomena in which, in addition to psychological, biological, and social factors, organizational structures, economic conditions, leadership, and knowledge governance shape the conditions for prevention, care, support, and treatment. Consequently, an important part of my research involves both developing interdisciplinary research collaborations and conducting interdisciplinary research within the field of alcohol, drug, and gambling use, risky use, harmful use, and addiction.

Current Research Projects

Alcohol Prevention in Working Life (2023–2026): An interdisciplinary research project in collaboration with the Sahlgrenska Academy, the School of Business, Economics and Law, and the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Gothenburg.

Alcohol Prevention in Working Life – What Can We Learn from Best Practices? (2023–2026): An interdisciplinary research project involving Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, and the University of Gothenburg.

Craving in Different Populations with Gambling Problems (2023–2027): A collaborative project with Professor Anders Håkansson, Lund University.

Long-term Register-Based Follow-up (15-Year Follow-up) of Morbidity and Mortality among Individuals with Alcohol Dependence, with a Particular Focus on Cancer-Related Diseases (2026): Conducted in collaboration with, among others, cancer researcher Kerstin H. Rauwolf, Germany.

Public Attitudes toward Illicit Drugs (2026): A one-year research project conducted in collaboration with The Swedish National Association Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (RFMA)

Selected publications

Book

Alborn, S-E, Berglund K, Boson K, Gerdner, A. (2023). Utredning, stöd och behandling vid alkohol- och narkotikaproblem [Choosing a path: Assessment, support and treatment for alcohol and substance use problems] Studentlitteratur.

Selected peer-reviewed scientific publications:

Berglund K, Bertilsson M, Hermansson U, Sager M, Wikstrom E, Hensing G; Determinants of alcohol preventive actions by managers: a cross-sectional study among Swedish managers. International Journal of Workplace Health Management 11 August 2025; 18 (4): 452–469. https://doi-org.ezproxy.ub.gu.se/10.1108/IJWHM-12-2024-0258

Högberg, J.H., Philips, B., Nielsen, J. Philips B, Berglund K. (2025) Executive function at baseline and follow-up in opioid maintenance patients and its relation to psychiatric comorbidity and substance use patterns. BMC Psychiatry 25, 396 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06524-w

Sundqvist, K., Martinez, M.W. and Berglund, K. (2025) ‘Universal alcohol prevention in the workplaces – does it matter?’, Work (Reading, Mass.), p. Work (Reading, Mass.), 2025-03. https://doi.org/10.1177/10519815251320271

Boson, K., Vlasman, S. and Berglund, K. (2024) Characteristics of non-drinking adolescents: a longitudinal Swedish study, International journal of adolescence and youth, 29(1), p. International journal of adolescence and youth, 2024-12, Vol.29 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2024.2312861

Andersson J, Berglund K, Irmel R, Adermark L. (2024) Prospective Association Between Tobacco Use and at-Risk Alcohol Consumption Among Swedish Adolescents: Outlining the Influence of Tobacco Product, Frequency of Use and Gender in the LoRDIA Cohort. Tobacco Use Insights. 17. doi:10.1177/1179173X241298524

Berglund K, Alborn SE, Wennberg P (2023) Can a history of childhood trauma impact the effectiveness of treatment in individuals with alcohol use disorders? A 2.5 and 5-year follow-up. International Journal of mental health and addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01158-z

Berglund K., Boson K., Wennberg P. & Gerdner, A. (2022). Impacts of alcohol consumption by mothers and fathers, parental monitoring, adolescent disclosure and novelty-seeking behavior on the likelihood of alcohol use and inebriation among adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 2022, 27:1, 582-596 https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2022.2156298

Wilson Martinez, M., Berglund, K., Hensing, G., & Sundqvist, K. (2022). Swedish Managers’ and HR-Officers’ Experiences and Perceptions of Participating in Alcohol Prevention Skills Training: A Qualitative Study. Frontiers In Psychology, 2022, Vol. 13 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.756343

Schückher, F., Berglund, K., Engström, I., & Sellin, T. (2022). Predictors for Abstinence in Socially Stable Women Receiving Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 40(2), 244-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/07347324.2021.2018957

Berglund, K. (2020). Commentary on Witkiewitz et al. (2020): WHO risk drinking classification system is promising in clinical trials, but needs to be tested in other patient groups. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 115(9), 1681-1682. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15102

Berglund K, Rauwolf KK, Berggren U, Balldin J, Fahlke C (2019) Outcome in relation to drinking goals in alcohol-dependent individuals: a follow-up study 2.5 and 5 years after treatment entry. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 54, 439 – 445. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agz042

Boson K, Wennberg P, Fahlke C Berglund K (2019) Personality traits as predictors of early alcohol inebriation among young adolescents: mediating effects by mental health and gender-specific patterns Addictive Behaviors 95, 152 – 159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.03.011

Schuckher F, Sellin T, Engström I, Berglund K (2019) History of childhood abuse is associated with less positive treatment outcomes in socially table women with alcohol use disorder. BMC women´s health, 19, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-019-0857-4

Balldin J, Berglund K, Berggren U Wennberg P, Fahlke C (2018) Taq1A1 allele of the DRD2 gene region contribute to shorter survival time in alcohol-dependent individuals when controlling for the influence of age and gender. A follow-up study of 18 years. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 53, 216 – 220. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agx089

Rauwolf KK, Berglund K, Berggren U, Balldin J, Fahlke C (2017) The Influence of Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco on the Progression, Severity and Treatment Outcome in Alcohol-Dependent Individuals. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 52, 477-482. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agx031

Berglund K, Svensson I, Berggren U, Balldin J, Fahlke C (2016) Is There a Need for Congruent Treatment Goals Between Alcohol-Dependent Patients and Caregivers? Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 40, 874-879. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13003