"Det hade varit roligt att se hur hon ser ut i alla fall..." : En kvalitativ intervjustudie av långvarigt ekonomiskt utsatta barnfamiljer

Sammanfattning: In this study, we have examined if and how parents who receive financial support from the social services experience that their children are being affected by financial stress, as well as whether the parents experience that they are given satisfactory support from the social services. Empowerment and Sense of coherence were used as a theoretical framework to analyze the results. Interviews with three informants who all were receiving financial support at the time, and have at least one child below the age of 18 in their custody were performed. The parents were devising strategies attempting to give the children the experienced of a better financial situation, in order to protect them from being adversely affected. The conclusion is that all informants experienced a lack of support from the social services. Further results show that the parents experienced that their children were adversely affected by financial stress, especially when comparing themselves with other children. Further the results show that the parents develop their own strategies in order to protect the children from being affected by financial stress. These strategies are for example to draw the children’s attention away from the family’s economic issues and to ignore their own basic needs to be able to give the children more varied opportunities.