En vinjettstudie om etnicitetens betydelse i socialsekreterares bedömningar av unga lagöverträdare

Sammanfattning: Previous research has shown that ethnicity can have an impact in social worker’s assessments. Despite this, research is relatively limited when it comes to the subject of the influence of ethnicity in child health investigations, particularly in assessments of juvenile offenders. The purpose of this study is to investigate if and how social worker’s assessments of juvenile offenders differ based on the ethnicity of the youth. This issue is essential in today's society, as Sweden is characterized by a multi-culture and a variety of ethnicities. To achieve the purpose of the study, two vignette surveys were designed where the only difference was the name of youth. In one vignette the youth had a Swedish name (Adam) and in the second vignette the youth had a name linked to a foreign name (Amir). The vignettes were sent in the form of a web survey to social workers who are active in the child and youth care of social services. The vignette surveys were answered by 25 social workers, of which 12 treated the survey on Adam and 13 the survey on Amir. The results show that there aren’t any statistically significant differences in social worker’s assessments based on youth ethnicity. However, there is a statistically significant difference between the age of social workers in relation to the estimation of concern in particularly one aspect of the youth life. The results have been linked to previous research in the field and to theoretical starting points from social constructivism, street-level bureaucracy, categorizations and stereotypes.