Ensamstående mödrar kan utifrån samhällets normer betraktas som ett socialt problem, eller en social framgång. Forskning har funnit att ensamstående mödrar ofta har sämre livsvillkor än andra samhällsgrupper, även i jämförelse med ensamstående fäder. Följande studie undersökte hur de ensamstående mödrarna själva såg på sin situation, utifrån stigma och social exklusion i det svenska samhället. Studien baserades på en kvalitativ metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer, med sju ensamstående mödrar. Resultaten visade att majoriteten av informanterna har upplevt stigmatiserande och socialt exkluderande behandling från såväl samhällsinstanser som övriga samhällsgrupper. Resultaten visade också på att samtliga informanter upplever att den generella förståelsen och det tillgängliga stödet för deras livssituation är bristfällig.

I Sverige omfattas äldre personer av ett historiskt och internationellt sett generöst offentligt ekonomiskt grundtrygghetssystem. Trots det ökade risken för relativ fattigdom bland unga ålderspensionärer (65 till 74 år) under 2000-talets första decennium. Det nya pensionssystemet, tillsammans med den demografiska och ekonomiska utvecklingen, förväntas bidra till att denna trend fortsätter. Inom ramen för dessa omständigheter undersöker avhandlingen yngre ålderspensionärers relativa ekonomiska utsatthet, vad den får för konsekvenser i deras vardag och hur de hanterar situationen. Särskilt vikt läggs vid hur människors livshistorier inverkar på problematiken. Avhandlingen baseras på 30 intervjuer med ekonomiskt utsatta och 17 intervjuer med ekonomiskt trygga yngre ålderspensionärer. Ekonomisk utsatthet preciseras till att motsvara ekonomiska förutsättningar som återfinns bland yngre ålderspensionärer med bostadstillägg. Ekonomisk trygghet definieras följaktligen som bättre ekonomiska förutsättningar än så. Tidigare forskning förklarar ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen med att socioekonomiska nackdelar samverkar och följer på varandra i en negativ spiral över tid. De ger intryck av att det finns en väg fram till ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen. Denna väg tar sin början i en svår ekonomisk situation i barndomen som sedan förvärras allt eftersom tiden går. I kontrast till det visar denna avhandling på fyra vägar fram till ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen – kontinuitet, sluttning, fall och berg- och dalbana. Tre av dessa inkluderar erfarenheter av relativt goda ekonomiska förutsättningar tidigare under livshistorien. Tidigare forskning visar även att äldre personer som lever med ekonomisk utsatthet har anpassat sina preferenser efter små ekonomiska förutsättningar över tid och därför är nöjda med sina vardagsliv trots ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen. I kontrast till det är målen i vardagen likartade bland ekonomiskt utsatta och ekonomiskt trygga pensionärer i avhandlingen. Ju sämre ekonomiska förutsättningar pensionärerna har, desto mer exkluderas de från möjligheten att nå mål om ett hälsosamt åldrande, oberoende, valfrihet och meningsfullhet. Avhandlingens visa också hur äldre personer hanterar den ekonomiska utsattheten på flera olika sätt – genom att hushålla med resurser, försöka öka inkomsterna, använda tillgångar, acceptera situationen, fokusera på positiva aspekter av vardagslivet och anpassa anspråken efter vad som blivit möjligt att uppnå. Hanteringen framträder företrädesvis som resultatet av yngre ålderspensionärers inlåsning i ekonomisk utsatthet under den resterade förväntade livstiden och inte som resultatet av deras tidigare livshistoria. I avhandlingen diskuteras slutligen hur 40-talisternas eller den så kallade rekordgenerationens ålderspensionering kan komma att påverka den ekonomiska utsatthetens betydelse i ålderdomen. Dessutom lyft standardindexering av den skäliga levnadsnivån för äldre personer samt ytterligare subventioner på utgiftssidan fram som möjliga socialpolitiska insatser mot social exklusion bland yngre ålderspensionärer. / During the first decade of the 21st century in Sweden, inequality and risk rates of poverty have increased among young pensioners (between 65–74 years of age). A new public pension system, combined with demographic and economic developments, is expected to add further to these trends. Following this context, the aim of the present dissertation is to survey and understand patterns of economic hardship and its meaning in young pensioners’ everyday lives. The study design is qualitative and takes “subtle realism” as its philosophical theoretical starting point. Economic hardship represents the economic conditions faced by young pensioners who receive the housing supplement for pensioners. It is examined through a relative perspective on poverty. The empirical data primarily consists of interviews with 30 people who live with economic hardship and 17 people who live with comparatively better economic conditions. The theoretical framework consists of theories of social exclusion, coping and life course. The participants’ life histories show four paths to economic hardship – continuity, slope, fall and roller coaster. The last three have not been explicitly described in research before. In elderly life, young pensioners describe experiences of exclusion from the possibility to achieve healthy aging, independence, freedom of choice and meaningfulness, due to their economic hardship. When combined with psychological illness, social isolation, alcohol misuse, and restricted mobility, this exclusion becomes more severe. By focusing on favourable aspects of life and adjusting preferences to fit what has been achieved, young pensioners manage to feel satisfaction with their lives despite consequences of economic hardship. In conclusion, it was primarily situational factors earlier in life that explained economic hardship among young pensioners. In contrast, the findings indicate that it is the present and future – not the past – which for the most part shape young pensioners’ coping with economic hardship. This last finding is at odds with previous assumptions. Finally, as consumption becomes increasingly central in young pensioners’ everyday lives in general, the consequences of economic hardship become more striking within the age group. / <p>Ett erratablad medföljer avhandlingen, se separat fulltextdokument.</p>

The dissertation "The Factors of Social Exclusion on the Labour Market" is aimed on groups of people who have for some reason complicated access to the labour market - women, elder people, people with disabilities, Roma people, foreigners, and partly on disintegrated persons (particularly people after imprisonment). It discourses their position on the Czech labour market and describes problems they often face. That is especially low rate of employment and lack of appropriate jobs. There are mentioned measure proposals that could improve the situation of people excluded from the labour market, and the European Union policy in this sector too. Attention is also contributed to the concept of social exclusion, dimensions and mechanisms of social exclusion and social inclusion. The dissertation refers to the labour market and factors influencing the labour market margination, law regulations of discrimination on the labour market (in the Czech Republic and the European Union).

The aim of this study is to highlight inequality among elderly. The study increase the understanding of poverty and financial vulnerability in elderlies life. This study describes what their living conditions look like for themselves and what their financial situation can have in their everyday lives and consequences. The aim is to understand the patterns and paths that lead to financial vulnerability in retirement. Seven retired people in the age between 65-80 years were interviewed. The result shows that there are large differences in income between men and women when retired. Some of the main reasons for this are that the women have worked unpaid by living as housewives and taking a bigger responsibility for children and the home. The unpaid work has had an impact on the income when retired and affected their living conditions. The majority of the respondents answer that planning and limitations are needed to cope up with everyday life as retired person. Some of the respondents have to continue to work extra after retirement to succeed financially. Generally the finances of the elderly are worse after retirement than before and this has negative consequences, it will not get better when they are retired as many of them thought, but they still manage to get their lives to work out even if they have limitations in their everyday life. Gender, individualization and social exclusion are used to analyze the results in the essay.

Social policy challenges in terms of structural social changes, consisting of economic, political and social conditions, shed light on integration policy difficulties in the Swedish welfare state. The aim and purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze, based on organizational isomorphism, how representatives from a selected football organization in Sweden understand football as an integrative tool and how they work with integration of children and adolescents through their certified academy. Also, in which ways the organization obtains legitimacy for their integrational work.  The results and analysis of the study shows that inclusion and exclusion through football academies is a complex and comprehensive task. It is presented mainly through the understanding of football as a logic, where football is presented as a promoter of integration and as a force for good, even though the main focus of the organization and thereby academy is to produce successful football players.

The aim of this study was to increase understanding of how older Syrian migrants experience aging in Sweden as well as their perspective on needs related to aging and how these needs can be met. The empirical base of the study was eight semi-structured qualitative interviews. In addition, theories about Maslow's hierarchy of needs and social support were applied to the study to enable a further analysis of our respondents' perspectives on aging, perspectives on Swedish elderly care and perspectives on relative support. The result of the study shows that our respondents feel that it is difficult to see how their needs as elderly people can be met. They live in a country with a different language and culture without having any knowledge about the new country. They also believe that the responsibility lies mainly on their relatives instead of searching for help or support from the public elderly care, because they think that the help offered by the elderly care is not prepared to their individual needs. The study concluded that our respondents think that aging in a foreign country does not give the same feeling as aging in their home country. Learning a new language is certainly not easy for them. It is also not easy for them to live in a new society with its norms, culture, and tradition. All of our respondents are dependent on their adult children and need help with various things. This help that children provide for their elderly parents is an obligation in their culture.

Economic abuse does not always appear in the context of domestic abuse,there are other forms of abuse that are more mentioned in politics and inmedia, for example physical and psychological abuse. Previous researchshows that economic violence is often linked to psychological and physicalviolence and that it is mainly women who are overrepresented in terms ofvulnerability to violence. The consequences of economic violence have provento be many and big, in some terms even life-long for the women who havebeen exposed to the violence.The purpose of the study is to gain an increased understanding of socialworkers' experiences in working with women who have been exposed toeconomic violence by men they have a relationship with, as well as the socialand economic consequences the exposed women are left with. The theoriesused in the study are Yvonne Hirdman's theory of gender, as well as Goffman'stheory of stigmatization and social exclusion.Eight interviews of social workers have been conducted to get a picture ofwhat consequences women who are exposed to economic violence have andwhat obstacles and opportunities the social workers see in their work withwomen exposed to violence. The results show that men's economic violenceagainst women has major consequences for women's lives. The results alsoshow that social workers see both obstacles and opportunities in their work tohelp women exposed to economic violence.