Coronaeffekten : Pandemins inverkan på barns liv i Sverige

Sammanfattning: In the beginning of 2020 Covid-19 was classified as a worldwide pandemic. The aim of this essay was to research how the Covid-19 pandemic, and the preventive measures that were introduced, have affected children in Sweden. Furthermore, we also wanted to understand if children's availability to support or help has been affected due to the pandemic. To answer our research questions, we used a qualitative content analysis method and analyzed reports from three different organizations: Socialstyrelsen, Bris and Rädda Barnen. We analyzed our result with Antonovsky’s theory sense of coherence and Bourdieu's theory of capital and field as these theories emphasized how different individuals have different resources in handling crises and how different individuals will be affected when their everyday life is changed. We found that even though Sweden did not demand lockdowns and schools for children under the age of 16 remain open to a large extent, children in Sweden have been affected by the pandemic. Children often experienced limitations at school or limitations in their after-school activity. The children that were most affected by the pandemic were children that were in difficult situations before the pandemic. The recommendations and preventative measures that were put in place resulted in isolation which made difficult situations more difficult. The preventative measures also made it more difficult for children to seek support or help from resources outside their family. It was harder to receive support and help when the children no longer had the ability to meet important adults outside their caretakers, and many professionals and organizations would only digitally meet the children. It is yet too early to fully understand the consequences that the pandemic has had on children as the pandemic is still ongoing and a lot more research is needed. We hope that this essay can highlight the consequences that have already been established after the year 2020 was summarized.