Affiliation
Ellen Oftedal Schwencke is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Oslo. She works for the Section for Youth Research at NOVA. The doctoral project is about sexual norms and boundaries in youth, where the aim is to get a better understanding of the boundaries between desired and unwanted sex. What is sex for in youth? How do youth construct sexual boundaries, and what happens when they are transgressed? Schwencke is mainly concerned with how gender, drugs and social inequalities play into this. The doctoral project is part of the research program on violence at NOVA.
Schwencke holds a masters degree in sociology from the University of Oslo (2021). The masters thesis explored cannabis use among adolescents from the west end of Oslo, and the thesis was a part of UiOs research centre PROMENTA. After completing her studies and until 2023, Schwencke was employed as a research assistant and researcher at NOVA, where she worked with Ungdata, UngVold and a qualitative research project on sexuality and sexual culture in youth. Schwencke was also the editor-in-chief of www.sosiologen.no. from 2022-2024
Disciplines
Research projects
Active research projects
Sexual Culture in Youth
The project will investigate how young people negotiate, experience and handle issues related to sexuality, sexual health and risk - in light of both contemporary youth culture, and other social and societal conditions.
Young in Oslo 2023
Young in Oslo is the City of Oslo’s Ungdata survey – a unique study that has been conducted since the mid-1990s. The 2023 survey will provide answers to what it’s like for children and young people to grow up in Oslo – after living with a pandemic for almost two years.
Youth Sexuality and Sexual Risk in a Digital Era (DIGISEX)
The project will shed light on how digital media has created both new opportunities and new forms of risk concerning youth sexuality.
The Sexual Culture Study – A Qualitative Interview Study and Database (UNGSEX)
How do young people negotiate and navigate questions related to sexuality, sexual health and risk. What are the reasons that so many end up committing or being subjected to sexual violations during precisely this period of life?
Completed research projects
UngVold 2023 – Trends in Exposure to Violence
In 2023, NOVA collected new data for the Youth Violence survey from more than 16,000 Norwegian youth, mapping Norwegian children and adolescents’ experience of violence and abuse during their upbringing.
Publications and research
Scientific publications (1)
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal; Berger, Eirik Jerven; Pedersen, Willy (2024). «Vi er jo ikke stonere»: bruk av cannabis og symbolske grenser blant ungdommer vest i Oslo. Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift. Vol. 8. p. 1-15
Research reports (1)
- Frøyland, Lars Roar; Lid, Stian; Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal; Stefansen, Kari (2023). Vold og overgrep mot barn og unge. Omfang og utviklingstrekk 2007-2023. 152 p.. OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet
Dissemination (13)
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2026). Unge menns seksuelle prosjekter og forhandlinger om heteroseksuell maskuliniteter
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2026). Å forske på ungdom og seksualitet med bruk av intervjudata. Foredrag på fagdag i sosiologi og sosialkunnskap
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2025). Becoming heterosexual men: Young men's sexual projects and negotiations of heteromasculinities. Masculinities In Transition
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2025). Unge menns seksuelle prosjekter og forhandlinger om heteroseksuell maskuliniteter. Kjønnsforskning NÅ! konferanse 2025
- Eriksen, Ingunn Marie; Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2025). Ulikhetsdrivere i ungdomstida: funn fra Ungdom i endring
- Frøyland, Lars Roar; Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal; Tveit, Trond (2024). Ungdom og seksuell vold
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal; Tokle, Rikke (2024). Russetiden er høysesong for seksuelle krenkelser. Dette er det alle russ og foreldre bør snakke om
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2023). Politisk kvarter: Unge rapporterer om kraftig økning i seksuelle overgrep, oftest begått av jevnaldrende.
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2023). Flinke vestkantpiker kjøper ikke cannabis
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2023). Festovergrep i fylla. Ungdatakonferansen
- Frøyland, Lars Roar; Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2023). Hvor vanlig er vold og overgrep blant barn og unge? (foredrag + panelsamtale). Arendalsuka
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2022). Vestkantungdom bruker mer cannabis enn andre ungdommer. Bør det bekymre oss?
- Schwencke, Ellen Oftedal (2021). «Vi definerer oss jo ikke som stonere» En kvalitativ studie av ungdom på Oslo vest som bruker cannabis. Universitetet i Oslo
These publications are obtained from Norwegian Research Information Repository. The list may be incomplete.