Studien handlar om upplevelser av socialsekreterare som jobbar med barnavårdsutredningar med sin makt gentemot föräldrarna och deras strategier för attminska maktobalansen som finns i relationen. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre socialsekreterare i en mellanstor kommun. Intervjumaterialet analyserades med tematisk analys. Studien visade att socialsekreterare upplever att föräldrarna kan känna rädsla eller ilska i deras kontakt med socialtjänsten och socialsekreterare. Socialsekreterare upplevde även att föräldrarnas känslor inför socialsekreterares makt i vissa fall leder till att föräldrarna tackar ja till föreslagna insatser trots de inte vill på grund av rädsla för konsekvenserna eller att inte framstå som dåliga föräldrar inför socialsekreterare. En annan viktig slutsats som kom fram var att socialsekreterare kan använda sin makt annorlundautifrån hur hög eller låg oro de har för barnets situation. Graden av oro som socialsekreterare har visade sig även påverka hur delaktiga föräldrarna tillåts vara i utredningar och i skriftliga rapporter. Det framkom också att socialsekreterare tyckte att tydlighet, att göra föräldrarna delaktiga i utredningar och vissa personliga egenskaper hjälpte till att minska maktobalansen mellan dem och föräldrarna.

Den svenska narkotikapolitiken kännetecknas av stränga förbudslagar som har mött motstånd de senaste åren. Detta eftersom dess effektivitet har blivit ifrågasatt. Målet med denna undersökningen är att undersöka svenska socialarbetares åsikter om den svenska narkotikapolitiken och hur den påverkar deras arbete. Vidare vill vi även se hur socialarbetare ställer sig till en eventuell avkriminalisering av cannabis för eget bruk och hur det hade kunnat påverka deras arbete. Undersökningen består av åtta semi-strukturerade intervjuer med personer som stöter på klienter med missbruk på olika sätt. Resultatet visar att intervjupersonerna anser att narkotikapolitiken bör utvärderas. De anser att den nuvarande narkotikapolitiken är repressiv och straffar mer än den hjälper. Vidare påpekar de att en eventuell avkriminalisering kan gynna brukare- och missbrukare även om det är en komplex policyfråga som måste utvärderas noggrant innan det implementeras. Intervjupersonerna nämner en rädsla för att en avkriminalisering av cannabis för eget bruk hade normaliserat drogen och ökat användningen. Den svenska narkotikapolitiken bidrar även till stigmatisering av brukare- eller missbrukare, något som gör att de ses som avvikare och kriminella och förhindrar dem från att söka hjälp. Vår slutsats är att den svenska narkotikapolitiken i sin nuvarande form måste förändras. Huruvida detta är genom en avkriminalisering av cannabis för eget bruk eller genom att förbättra och göra den nuvarande missbruksvården mer lättillgänglig är något som måste övervägas. / The Swedish drug policy is characterized by strict prohibitionist laws which has seen some resistance in recent years due to questioning of its effectiveness. The aim of this essay is to examine Swedish social workers views regarding the Swedish drug policy and how it affects their work with drug users and drug dependent clients. Furthermore we wanted to see what social workers feel about decriminalization of cannabis for personal use and how it could affect their line of work. The study consists of eight semi-structured interviews with social workers who come across clients with addictions in different ways. The results show that the interviewees believe that the drug policy needs to be evaluated. They believe that it’s currently repressive and punishes more than it helps. Furthermore, they point out that decriminalization can benefit users and drug dependent clients even though it’s a complex policy that must be properly evaluated before implementing. The interviewees mention a fear that decriminalization of cannabis for personal use would normalize the drug and in turn lead to an increased use. The Swedish drug policy is also considered to contribute to the stigmatization of users or drug dependent clients. This in turn leads them to be seen as deviants and criminals, something that prevents them from seeking help. Our conclusion is that Sweden's drug policy, in its current form, needs to change. Whether this is through decriminalization of own use or through improving the accessibility and quality of current drug treatment care is something that needs to be considered.

Syftet med den här studien har varit att undersöka hur socialarbetare beskriver sitt arbete med barn och ungdomar som befinner sig i gängkriminella miljöer och hur de uppfattar gynnsamma faktorer och hinder i sitt arbete. Kvalitativa intervjuer med sex socialarbetare har gjorts. Handlingsutrymme, people-processing, people-changing, people-sustaining och social brottsprevention har använts i analysen. Resultatet visade att socialarbetarnas arbete med barn och ungdomar i gängkriminella miljöer innefattar arbete som faller innanför och ett som faller utanför uppdraget. Faktorer som ansågs gynnsamma var bland annat några utbildningar, handböcker, stöd från kollegor och chefer samt individuellt förvärvad kunskap. Hinder i arbetet innefattar bland annat ostrukturerade introduktioner, brist på utbildning, bristande insatser och en allmän kunskapsbrist samt bristen på kunskap och lämpliga insatser för målgruppen. De gynnsamma faktorerna kan även vara hinder såtillvida att även om de har kunskap om målgruppen är den inte tillräcklig, särskilt beträffande insatser vilket var studiens främsta fynd. / The aim of this study was to examine how social workers conduct their work with juveniles and young adults in gang-criminal environments based on their perception of favorable factors and obstacles. The applied method was qualitative interviews with six different social workers where the theoretical perspectives were discretion, people-processing, people-changing, people-sustaining and social crime prevention. The results revealed that their work includes both work within their professional duties, such as investigation and work outside of their duties, for instance supporting roles. In addition, the outcome shows favorable aspects that include training courses, manuals, independently gained knowledge and support from colleagues and supervisors. However, the obstacles were unstructured introductions, a lack of training, general lack of knowledge and efforts suitable for the target group. It became apparent that the success factors were also regarded as challenges and that the lack of knowledge, especially interventions, was the primary finding of the study.

Barns våld mot sina föräldrar är ett komplext våldsfenomen med bristande forskning, både nationellt och internationellt. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare runt om i Sverige uppfattar och hanterar ärenden där barns våld mot sina föräldrar förekommer. För att undersöka detta valde vi att genomföra en vinjettstudie i samband en semistrukturerad intervju med fyra socialsekreterare. Resultatet visar att det saknas insatser riktade specifikt mot barns våld mot sina föräldrar och att en hantering av bakomliggande problematik förväntas minska våldet. Att samverka med andra myndigheter beskrevs vara viktigt i arbetet med detta våldsfenomen. Även vissa tendenser att ej betrakta föräldrarna som ideala offer framkom och studiens resultat tyder på att det kan påverka socialsekreterarnas sätt att hantera ärenden där barns våld mot sina föräldrar förekommer.

Suicide is an extensive worldwide public health problem. Every suicide leaves survivors, families and friends in grief and sorrow, a group of people who in turn are in need of support. The purpose of this essay is to increase the knowledge and understanding about these peoples’ need of support as a form of suicide prevention. Someone who suffered a loss of a relative to suicide are at greater risk of mental illness and are in turn at greater risk of committing suicide themselves.  In order to achieve the purpose of this essay, a qualitative study has been done in the form of six interviews with people who have suffered the loss of a relative to suicide. These people have contributed greatly to the essay with stories from their experiences. The conclusion confirms previous research of this subject, the lack of experience and routine about how to receive and support a survivor on a structural level. This essay shows that the survivors in this study are in need of support after a suicide. It also shows that the survivors want direct support and professional help after the suicide.

This research aimed to investigate the contributions of emotions and Emotional Intelligence (EI) to social work practice with children and families in Malaysia. A mixture of methods within an ethnographic approach was used. The Assessing Emotions Scale (AES) (Schutte et al., 2007) was completed by 105 child social workers. The levels of EI and differences in EI according to certain demographic characteristics were identified. Individual interviews with 25 child social workers were conducted to explore their perceptions concerning emotions and EI in the workplace. Observations were carried out over a period of three months to investigate how emotions were expressed in terms of behaviour. The quantitative results showed that levels of EI were high (mean=131.69, SD=12.483). The workers were reported to be emotionally intelligent in perceiving emotions, dealing with their own and others’ emotions and utilising emotions in their professional conduct. There were no significant differences by gender (p-value=0.367>0.05), marital status (p-value=0.694>0.05), age group F (d=3, 101), P>.05=1.468) or length of service F (d=4,100), P>.05=0.331), but there was a difference with regard to educational level F (d=3,101), P<.05=6.878). The qualitative research findings seemed to show that skills in empathising, expressing and regulating one’s and others’ emotional experiences, as well as religious practice factors, contributed to EI. The qualitative research findings also revealed the strength of religious beliefs in Malaysian social workers, which facilitate the qualities of EI. The present study implies that the spiritual and religious dimension of practice should not be ignored in social work education and training.

This study aimed to investigate how newly graduated social workers, in the social services' income support, experience their work in the first time after graduation, and what factors affect their experiences. This is based on requirements-, control and the support model. Data collection took place through six semi-structured interviews with newly graduated social workers who work on the social services' income support. Collected data were analyzed with thematic analysis. The results showed that newly graduated social workers experience feelings of insecurity, unpreparedness, and stress. The results also showed that quantitative workload is high, but support plays an important role in ensuring that newly graduated social workers thrive in the workplace. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur nyutexaminerade socionomer inom socialtjänstens försörjningsstöd upplever sitt arbete den första tiden efter examen, samt vilka faktorer som påverkar deras upplevelser. Detta utifrån krav-, kontroll- och stödmodellen. Datainsamling skedde genom sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer med nyutexaminerade socionomer som jobbar på socialtjänstens försörjningsstöd. Insamlade data analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultaten visade att nyutexaminerade socionomer upplever känsla av osäkerhet, oförberedd och stress. Resultaten visade också att kvantitativ arbetsbelastning är hög, men stöd har en viktigaste roll för att nyutexaminerade socionomer trivs på arbetsplats.

Background: Child abuse is a pervasive and serious problem in the United States. Over 3 million children are the victims of some kind of physical assault by adults. Due to their prolonged contact with children and opportunity to report, nurses should be trained to accurately assess, identify, and manage cases of child abuse. The purpose of this study was to examine student’s experiences with Child Protective Services, and explore their confidence and attitudes related to identifying and reporting child abuse. Factors associated with non-reporting were identified. Methodology: This was an exploratory, descriptive study. Students enrolled in the online Nursing Research course, NUR 3165, were asked to participate. Forty-four RN to BSN and Concurrent students completed the 27 questions survey on Qualtrics. It included demographic questions, questions regarding the participant’s beliefs about child abuse, The Child Abuse Reporting, Attitude and Experience Survey, and two vignettes. Survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: There were total of 44 (6 males and 38 females) students who completed the survey; most of them were between the age of 20-24. Fourteen were RN to BSN students who have practiced nursing for more than a year and 30 were concurrent nursing students who are still working on their ASN degree. The results showed that nursing students had positive experiences with CPS and indicated that they had confidence in identifying child abuse. However, students felt that they have not received adequate professional education in this field. Many reported never receiving training regarding child abuse and 84.1% indicated never reporting a suspected case to CPS. When presented with vignettes describing scenarios related to abuse, participants were not able to positively identify cases of abuse versus cases that were ambiguous. Discussion: Nurses are mandatory child abuse reporters in Florida. Many nursing students indicated that they have never reported suspected cases of child abuse to CPS and some of the reasons for this could be the lack of experience, and proper training and education on child abuse. Regardless of the reason, nursing students should be given adequate education to improve their confidence and attitude in identification and reporting of child abuse cases. Nursing schools could focus on including more hands on activity such as case studies and simulation to improve knowledge. Employers could try to utilize protocols to help identify child abuse.

The purpose of this essay is to investigate and analyze how specifically appointed social workers – barnsekreterare work within the foster care with foster placed children and their network and how specifically appointed social workers specifically work with the best interest of the child in their daily work and in relation to attachment theory within foster placement for children and how they prioritize the attachment between children, foster parents and biological parents throughout foster placements. For this essay there will be documented research of the topic and earlier studies, together with the theory done on attachments theory. This essay will also include the point of view of the best interests of the child throughout the text.  Three semi-structured interviews are going to be held with three different specifically appointed social workers within one big city in Sweden. Sixteen open questions are going to be asked which are divided in between the work social workers do with biological parents versus foster parents. The result will then be documented, consisting of quotes from the social workers, a summary of their answers. With the documentation, an analysis will continuously be made with the purpose of finding similarities and differences between the earlier studies made and the answers of each social worker.  From the gathered information and the analysis of the empirical material the conclusion was made that the specifically appointed social workers work very thoroughly with upholding the law stated rights of every individual within the child’s network, but due to the variety of errands and cases it is a constant moral dilemma for most social workers. The importance of the attachment however is something that is never forgotten but modified to best suit the child’s needs within the foster home.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka socialarbetares erfarenheter av pojkar och unga mäns roller som offer och förövare i en hederskontext och vilka stödinsatser som finns att få. Studien är en kvalitativ intervjustudie där åtta socialarbetare med erfarenhet av pojkar och unga män i en hederskontext intervjuades. En av respondenterna arbetade inom en ideell organisation. Det teoretiska ramverket som används för denna studie blev ett intersektionellt perspektiv, gräsrotsbyråkrati samt maskulinitetsteori för att kunna besvara studiens syfte samt frågeställningar. Vidare användes en kvalitativ innehållsanalys för att tematisera innehållet av intervjuerna för att sedan kunna analysera dem tillsammans med relevant tidigare forskning samt teori.    Slutsatsen av studien är att adekvata stödinsatser samt forskning rörande pojkar och unga män i en hederskontext är begränsat samt bristande och är i ett stort behov av att utvecklas. Socialarbetares handlingsutrymme påverkas av utbildnings- och kompetensnivå. Brist på kompetens och kunskap visade sig kunna försvåra stödet till pojkar och unga män som lever i hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Det framkom också att det är svårt att nå dessa pojkar och unga män vilket försvårar socialarbetares möjligheter att ingripa. / The aim of the study is to investigate social workers' experiences of boys and young men's roles as victims and perpetrators in an honor context and what interventions are available. The study is a qualitative interview study in which eight social workers with experience of working with boys and young men in an honor context were interviewed. One of the respondents worked within a non-profit organization. The theoretical framework used for this study was an intersectional perspective, grassroots bureaucracy and masculinity theory in order to answer the study's purpose and questions. Furthermore, a qualitative content analysis was used to thematize the content of the interviews in order to then analyze them together with relevant previous research and theory.   The conclusion of the study is that adequate interventions and research concerning boys and young men in an honorable context is limited and lacking and is in great need of development. Social workers' leeway is affected by level of education and competence. A lack of competence and knowledge proved to be able to make it difficult to support boys and young men who live in honor-related violence and oppression. It also emerged that it is difficult to reach these boys and young men, which makes it difficult for social workers to intervene.