Titel: “You can tell us and we will listen, but it is not certain that it is you who makes the final decision” A study about the best interest of the child and the child´s participation in high-conflict families in custody investigations from a family law socialworkers point of view.   This study examined how four social workers at municipal social service section responsible for family law issues interpret the concepts of children's best interests, the child's participation and high conflict families concerning issues of child custody investigations, from a qualitative perspective. The study was performed using semi-structured interviews based on fictitious case studies on these themes. The main results regarding the child's best interest was the perceived lack of accepted knowledge base to assess the current interests of the child and the presence and severity of various risks children may face in the company of their parents. The main results regarding the child's involvement was, according to the interviewed social workers at the municipal social service section responsible for family law issues, that they generally follow the National Social Board of legislative interpretations and recommendations but that the protection aspect outweight the expense of the degree of participation of the child. The conclusion was in accordance with the indication from children's rights organizations the children will often be heard but do not always get their views listened to. The concept high- conflict families was not an established concept, even if the problem was well known. / Denna studie undersökte hur fyra familjerättssekreterare tolkar begreppen barns bästa, barnets delaktighet och högkonfliktfamiljer gällande umgängesfrågor i vårdnadsutredningar utifrån ett kvalitativt perspektiv. Studien gjordes med hjälp semistrukturerade intervjuer som byggde på fiktiva fallstudier kring dessa teman. Ett huvudresultat utifrån intervjuerna gällande barnets bästa var att det saknas vedertagen kunskapsbas att utgå ifrån för att bedöma förekomsten och allvaret i de olika risker barnet kan utsättas för i umgänget med sina föräldrar. Ett tydligt resultat gällande barnets delaktighet var utifrån de intervjuade familjerättssekreterare att familjerätten generellt följer Socialstyrelsens lagtolkningar och rekommendationer men att skyddsaspekten ofta väger över på bekostnad av graden av delaktighet för barnet. Slutsatsen blev att precis som barnrättsorganisationer uppgett, får barnen ofta komma till tals men blir inte alltid lyssnade på och deras synpunkter underordnas ofta ett vuxet barnperspektiv. Begreppet högkonfliktfamilj var inte ett använt begrepp bland familjerättssekreterare, även om problematiken var välkänd.

The aim of this study was to investigate how family law caseworkers in Sweden handle the mediation process in child custody disputes. Three themes were emphasized: the child’s best interest, strategies to maintain the child’s best interest and family conflicts and high-conflict families. To get an understanding of how these themes relate to child custody disputes, I conducted semi-structured interviews with family law caseworkers, since working with custody cases is part of their daily work. I chose a qualitative method because I was striving for diverse and comprehensive responses about family caseworkers’ practical experience in dealing with custody disputes. When asked about the definition of the child’s best interest, all respondents agreed that it is an open concept, implying that the definition depends on the specific circumstances surrounding the case. Generally, the respondents were of the opinion that the child’s best interest is synonymous with joint custody. The respondents stated that they employ different strategies to ensure that the child’s best interest is maintained, which is a result of their relatively high discretion. They stressed that while their primary focus is on dialogue with the parents, they use child testimonies as an additional guidance when determining what constitutes the child’s best in the case at hand. However, they also pointed out that a child’s wishes do not always coincide with the child’s best interest. When it comes to high-conflict families, the respondents concluded that the term has not been established in practice, although the problems associated with such families were recognized. After I presented the formal definition outlined in American research, the respondents agreed that the definition is useful in practice.