Att leva med socialbidrag : Ensamstående mammor berättar om sina upplevelser

Sammanfattning: People recieving social assistance is today very common in Swedish society. Of those receiving social assistance single mothers is one ofthe largest groups. The purpose of this study is to examine how single mothers with social assistance experience themselves to be treated by social services, how this treatment affects their confidence in the social services and how they experience it is to live with social assistance. To answer the question, we use qualitative interviews with three clients. Previous research has shown that single mothers receiving social assistance experience vulnerability, and how they perceive it is affected by how they are treated by their social secretaries. Our theoretical approach are the ideas of empowerment and stigma. The results show that clients relate their feelings of vulnerability to their poor economy, lack of work, stereotypes, their relationship to their secretary and their views on the social assistance system. We see that the clients make a distinction between their confidence and trust in the social assistance system and their secretaries. We believe that this has to do with the personal relationship they have with their secretaries. The clients express that the relationship with their secretary is very important because it can affect their self esteem and confidence in the future.