Mötet med den svenska välfärdsstaten - En intervjustudie om hur europeiska barnfamiljer som migrerat till Sverige upplever mötet med nya familjevillkor i välfärdsstaten

Abstract

This bachelor essay studies families that have migrated from countries in Europe to Sweden, and their experiences of adapting to new conditions of the Swedish welfare state. Their experiences are studied firstly from an institutional point of view, which refers to the family’s experience of adapting family life to Swedish family social policy. Secondly it focuses how the families experience new norms and values connected to Swedish family social policy. The main aim is to seek what problems families migrating to Sweden might be confronted with when adapting to new conditions of the welfare state. The study is based on three themes; parental benefits, childcare and the division of labour in work/ family life. The research method used is semi-structured interviews and the participants are parents from the countries: United Kingdom, Romania, Germany and Italy. The study shows how norms and values attached to the Swedish family social policy tend to be more problematic for the families, when adapting to new conditions in family life, than the actual welfare services. The study therefore highlights family’s conditions in Europe, and theintimate interplay between norms and values and family social policy, and the effect it has on European family integration.