hi hugh,

do you have an after market alarm?
have your daughter confirm that the headlights are flashing, it should
be only the front and rear turn signal lights and the side indicator lights.

the following is for the stock 1995 850 volvo alarm- a complex circuit that does not cycle the headlights. hopefully the 96 is the same.

first you can unplug the alarm horn 16/19, its mounted in the engine bay on the center of the firewall up high. there's a 2 pole connector.

there are 6 alarm switches that are involved that must close;
one at each door lock
one at the tailgate lock
one at the drivers side hood latch

this mean if there's a door ajar it can cause trouble, have your daughter open and close all the doors, tailgate and hood.

check that all of the locks function ok with central locking? have her check that all the door locks cycle up and down, and that the tailgate also locks. if you have a dead lock motor somewhere it could upset the alarm.

the hood switch can be checked with an ohm meter at the hood latch assembly.
make sure it's plugged in.

i'd do this stuff before looking at the alarm relay 2/28 or the central lock relay 2/7

i'd want to service the many ground points involved with the alarm system:
31/50 31/11 31/47 31/48 31/50 31/51 -they all need to be healthy.

you can disable cental locking and the horn with fuse 6
disable the flashing lights with fuse 13, not sure if will kill directionals?

ref 5-door alarm pg 114 of the volvo 1995 850 wiring diagram tp3907202
component & ground locations pg 116
you must find your volvo wiring diagram to diagnose wiring issues.

start with above and post back

good luck, bill

ps: sorry for ugly typing w no caps, i'm typing one handed after triceps tendon surgury