Lena Almqvist

Lena Almqvist is a Professor at Mälardalen University's School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Division of Psychology. She serves as Vice Dean for Education and Research Quality, and chairs the board of the Sunnerdahl Disability Fund. Her research focuses on mental health and participation of vulnerable children, including those with disabilities, immigrant backgrounds, or challenging home environments. She leads the multidisciplinary ChiP research group (Children's Rights to Health, Protection, Support, and Participation), comprising ~20 researchers. Current supervisory roles include 5 doctoral students across work life sciences, public health, physiotherapy, and caring sciences.

• Leading projects on preschools as health-promoting environments
• Developing interventions for time management in children with disabilities
• Analyzing longitudinal mental health trajectories in neurodivergent children

Her work emphasizes child participation rights through protection, promotion, and inclusion principles. Recent studies examine engagement patterns in multilingual preschool settings and screen-time/physical activity trends in adolescents. Ongoing projects involve evaluating parenting support programs for families with intellectual disabilities and refining assessment tools for neurodisabled children.

Key collaborations include international comparisons of child participation (Sweden, Norway, Netherlands) and cross-cultural validation of assessment instruments. Her research bridges clinical practice, policy, and pedagogy to improve early childhood systems.