The purpose of this study is to, from a perspective of power, understand and interpret Swedish social workers experiences and comprehension of their clients trust in them. The study is based on interviews with eight social workers from two municipalities in the south of Sweden. Five themes were identified that represents the five different forms of power which the social workers used on a daily basis. The themes were: normalization, demands and control, the social worker as an expert, the conflict between bio power and disciplinary power and the transparency of power. The analyzis of this study is based on the comprehension of hermeneutics as well as previous research on trust and power in client relationships. As a conclusion we found that whether the interviewees stated that their work was about the exercise of power or not, we could still identify that all of them used some form of power on a daily basis. We also saw that trust was not always the essential part of a working client relationship. Through this study, and by using the theory of power by Michel Foucault, we found that power therefore is something that exists in all relationships whether you believe you exercise it or not.

The aim with this study was to get an understanding of how social workers on treatment centers where substance abuse occur identify ADHD among the patients and how the social workers in their daily work treat and meet patients with ADHD. The study was based on eight interviews with social workers on three different treatment centers in Sweden. The result has been analyzed with a content analysis. The theories used in this study are Howard Becker’s labeling theory and equifinality and multifinality, which derive from the systems theory.   The result of the study was that the social workers do not identify ADHD among their patients, but they adjust the treatment after what needs the individual patient have. These needs are for instance need of security and predictability. These needs are being considered in the treatment in the daily work since the social workers use a treatment that consists of structure, routines and schedules. This treatment is used on every patient and is not adjusted whether a diagnosis exists or not. How the social workers meet the patients can however be different for patients with ADHD since the social workers find clearness, alliance and trust as important in the meeting with these patients. This can however differ depending on what the social workers focus on in the treatment. The social workers on one of the treatment centers focus on the substance abuse, the social workers on another treatment center focus on the disability and in one treatment center both of these are in focus.

Sexual abuse of children is a complex problem that holds far-reaching consequences for the child and his / her family. It is a criminal act of power and control that has an impact on all people regardless of age, race, culture and economic status (Statistics, 2014). The handling of sexual abuse is a service field of social work in which social workers are designated by law to investigate cases of sexual abuse of children and the allegations thereof, according to the Children's Act No 32 of 2005 (SA, 2005). During investigations into child sexual abuse social workers experience intense, powerful feelings that have an emotional impact on the social worker and his / her role functioning (Cussons, 2011:2). It is important for social workers to possess the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to facilitate service delivery (Van Wyk, 2011:65). The objective of this research was to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse in order to establish the nature of social workers' needs, conscious experiences and observable behaviour. The researcher used the qualitative approach. The interpretive descriptive research design as a research strategy was used to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse. Eleven participants took part in the study and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with each participant individually. The qualitative data were transcribed into themes and sub-themes to be analysed by a coding system according to the proposed framework of Tesch (in Creswell, 2009:186). Eight themes were identified: (1) role requirements, (2) role expectations, (3) emotional needs, (4) physical needs, (5) social needs, (6) cultural needs, (7) spiritual needs and (8) development and growth. These themes were divided into sub-themes and categories, and appropriate narratives as discussed in the interviews. The information was checked with literature and some conclusions and recommendations were made. Investigations into child sexual abuse are high-intensity cases which require immediate action from social workers. It was found that social workers experienced a strong demand for debriefing and support during their involvement with these investigations. It seems that social workers dealing with these cases experience unique psychosocial needs. If these needs are not addressed, it can lead to negative role functioning, occupational stress and even burnout of these social workers. The following recommendations can be made, namely that: * support working groups be presented for debriefing opportunities; * organizations establish working groups that focus on stress; * child sexual abuse be seen as a speciality field; * social workers be trained as case managers of the investigation into child sexual abuse; * professional role-players involved be trained through workshops in respect of their own and others' obligations; * resources be recruited and obtained. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sexual abuse of children is a complex problem that holds far-reaching consequences for the child and his / her family. It is a criminal act of power and control that has an impact on all people regardless of age, race, culture and economic status (Statistics, 2014). The handling of sexual abuse is a service field of social work in which social workers are designated by law to investigate cases of sexual abuse of children and the allegations thereof, according to the Children's Act No 32 of 2005 (SA, 2005). During investigations into child sexual abuse social workers experience intense, powerful feelings that have an emotional impact on the social worker and his / her role functioning (Cussons, 2011:2). It is important for social workers to possess the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to facilitate service delivery (Van Wyk, 2011:65). The objective of this research was to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse in order to establish the nature of social workers' needs, conscious experiences and observable behaviour. The researcher used the qualitative approach. The interpretive descriptive research design as a research strategy was used to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse. Eleven participants took part in the study and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with each participant individually. The qualitative data were transcribed into themes and sub-themes to be analysed by a coding system according to the proposed framework of Tesch (in Creswell, 2009:186). Eight themes were identified: (1) role requirements, (2) role expectations, (3) emotional needs, (4) physical needs, (5) social needs, (6) cultural needs, (7) spiritual needs and (8) development and growth. These themes were divided into sub-themes and categories, and appropriate narratives as discussed in the interviews. The information was checked with literature and some conclusions and recommendations were made. Investigations into child sexual abuse are high-intensity cases which require immediate action from social workers. It was found that social workers experienced a strong demand for debriefing and support during their involvement with these investigations. It seems that social workers dealing with these cases experience unique psychosocial needs. If these needs are not addressed, it can lead to negative role functioning, occupational stress and even burnout of these social workers. The following recommendations can be made, namely that: * support working groups be presented for debriefing opportunities; * organizations establish working groups that focus on stress; * child sexual abuse be seen as a speciality field; * social workers be trained as case managers of the investigation into child sexual abuse; * professional role-players involved be trained through workshops in respect of their own and others' obligations; * resources be recruited and obtained. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Syftet med studien var att få en djupare förståelse för hur biståndshandläggare inom äldreomsorgen upplever sitt handlingsutrymme utifrån gräsrotsbyråkratens roll samt att identifiera vilka faktorer påverkar handlingsutrymmet. Fem intervjuer med sju informanter, varav sex kvinnor och en man, har genomförts och studien har en kvalitativ ansats. Analysen av resultatet visade att handlingsutrymmet ökar eller minskar vilket beror på ett antal identifierade faktorer. Dessa faktorer är: bakgrund, stödfunktioner, påtryckningar, reglementen och arbetssätt. I studien beskrivs hur handlingsutrymmet utförs och hur det upplevs av informanterna. En konsekvens av ett litet handlingsutrymme är att biståndshandläggarnas position mellan myndighetens uppdrag och medborgarnas behov kan bidra till stress. / The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how social worker in elderly care experience their discretion based on the street-level bureaucrats role and to identify the factors affecting the discretion. Five interviews with seven informants, six women and one man, have been completed and the study has a qualitative approach. The analysis of the results showed that the discretion increases or decreases due to a number of identified factors. These factors are: the background, support functions, pressure, regulations and practices. The study describes how the discretion is performed and how it is perceived by the informants. A consequence of a small discretion is that the social workers position between the authority´s  mission and the needs of citizens can contribute to stress.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att erhålla en djupare kunskap om ungdomars användning av cannabis. För att göra detta utgår denna studie från en kvalitativ intervjumetod där vi har intervjuat fyra socialarbetare samt en polisman. Samtliga informanter har erfarenhet av arbete med ungdomar som brukat cannabis. För att analysera resultaten som uppkommit under intervjuer har vi valt att använda oss av de teoretiska perspektiven social konstruktionism samt utvecklingspsykopatologi. Vidare har vi i studien använt risk och skyddsfaktorer för att analysera vilka faktorer som kan påverka att en ungdom använder sig av cannabis. Resultaten pekar på att bakomliggande faktorer vid bruket är psykisk ohälsa, neuropsykiatrisk diagnos såsom ADHD eller ADD och en problematisk hemmiljö. I resultatet diskuteras vidare om riskfaktorer såsom en bristande skolgång samt huruvida könet har någon betydelse eller skillnad bland de som använder sig av cannabis som berusningsmedel. Ett av de viktigaste resultaten som framkommer är att psykisk ohälsa är den vanligaste gemensamma riskfaktorn hos de ungdomar som använder sig av cannabis och som blir aktuella på socialtjänsten. Nyckelord: cannabis, socialarbetare, social kontruktionism, socialtjänst, ungdomar / The aim of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of young people's use of cannabis. To do that is this study made out of a qualitative interview method where we have interviewed four social workers and one policeman. All informants have experience of working with young people who used cannabis. To analyse the findings raised during the interviews, we have chosen to use the theoretical perspectives of social constructionism and the development of psychopathology. Furthermore, we have in the study used the risk and protective factors to analyse the factors that can influence a young person use of cannabis. The result indicates that the factors behind the use of cannabis are mental illness, neuropsychiatric diagnosis as ADHD or ADD and a problematic home. This result further discussion of risk factors such as a lack of schooling and whether sex has any significance or difference among those who use cannabis as an intoxicant. One of the main results that emerge is that mental illness is the most common risk factor for young people who use cannabis, and who is current to the social services. Keywords: cannabis, social constructionism, social service, social worker, young people

The aim of this study was to get a better understanding of social workers experiences of supervisions impact on social work with children and families. The two research questions where: Which are social workers needs of supervision? And does social workers perceive supervision as a tool for professional development and learning? The study´s empirical findings were a result of semi-structured interviews with five social workers in the social service department. The study´s theoretical framework was based on two different theories: new institutionalism, which is a specialization within organizational theory, and system theory perspective. The result found that social workers experiences supervision as an opportunity for support and reflection, which encourages them to develop professional skills in their daily work. Supervision had an effect on social workers self-confidence and wellbeing by adding expertise, which gave more structure, energy and stress relief in their work. The interviews also showed that supervision had a direct impact on the interaction and the team climate within a working group. However, certain terms and conditions must have been considered to call supervision successful. The supervisors responsibility to lead, see the groups needs and have an over all perspective was mentioned as one condition for good supervision. Another term was that the group cooperated and showed professionalism and respect towards one another. It was very important that supervision took place in a safe environment and that all group members felt trust towards their colleagues and supervisor. This way they where able to learn from each others experiences and show vulnerability and emotions which could contribute to reflection and professional development. Furthermore, social workers emphasise supervision as positive and a necessary tool in order to achieve an efficient and well functioning workplace.

Syfte. Denna studie undersöker om socialsekreterares bedömningar av ungdomar som begått brott skiljer sig åt i relation till ungdomens kön. Studien är avgränsad till att innefatta unga lagöverträdare och huruvida de har behov av fortsatt kontakt med socialtjänsten efter att påföljden är genomförd. Studiens teoretiska referensram är baserad på socialkonstruktionism samt genusteori.    Metod. En kvantitativ metod ligger till grund för studien. Två enkäter innehållandes två vinjetter vardera utformades och skickades ut via mejl till socialsekreterare verksamma i mellersta Sverige. Enkäterna skiljer sig åt i ett avseende - hälften av respondenterna har fått en enkät som består av två vinjetter där ungdomarna har flicknamn, och de resterande respondenterna har fått en enkät där vinjetterna innefattar pojknamn. Förutom namnen är vinjetterna identiska.   Resultat. Svaren som enkäterna genererade visar inte några signifikanta skillnader kring socialsekreterares bedömningar i relation till kön, varken sett till oro, lämplig insats eller skydds- och riskfaktorer.   Slutsats. Utifrån respondenternas svar har det inte varit möjligt att utläsa några skillnader mellan ungdomarnas kön. Dock går det inte utesluta förekommandet av könsskillnader inom socialtjänstens arbete med ungdomar då studiens resultat enbart är baserat på de resultat som genererats utifrån vinjetterna. Detta innebär att svaren kanske inte hade blivit desamma i verkligheten. / Aim. This study examines differences in social workers’ assessments of youths in relation to gender and whether they have the need for continued contact with the social services after the sentence is completed. The theoretical framework of this study is based on social constructionism and gender theory.   Method. This study was carried out using a quantitative method. Two surveys consisting of two vignettes each was constructed and sent by email to social workers in central Sweden. The surveys differed in only one aspect - half of the respondents received a survey consisting two vignettes in which the youths had girl names, and the other half received a survey consisting vignettes with boy names. Hence, the surveys were constructed to be differentiated by gender.   Results. The analysis of the responses generated revealed no significant differences regarding social workers’ assessments in relation to gender - not for concern, intervention or protective- and risk factors.   Conclusion. The study’s result has not detected any differences between the two genders included in the survey. However, it is not tenable to exclude gender differences in social work with youth as the results of this study are not fully generalizable, due to the choice of method. The answers might have differed if it was real cases.

Det övergripande syftet med denna studie är att studera socialsekreterares uppfattning av deras möjlighet till att bedriva förändringsarbete på avdelningen för ekonomiskt bistånd inom socialtjänsten, med målet att klienten ska bli självförsörjande. Tidigare forskning inom området har visat att socialsekreterare har flera olika roller. De förväntas följa lagar och regler samtidigt som de ska möta klientens individuella behov. Detta förutsätter en god relation mellan socialsekreterare och klient, och möjligheten till att skapa goda relationer anses kunna vara avhängigt organisationstypen. Tidigare forskning har även visat att ett av problemen i det dagliga arbetet inom socialtjänsten är tidsbristen, vilken ger upphov till ett behov av att prioritera mellan ärenden. Det är i ljuset av vad tidigare forskning visat om bland annat organisationsform och arbetsbörda som det ter sig relevant att utforska vad socialsekreterare själva anser om möjligheter till att bedriva förändringsarbete. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med totalt åtta socialsekreterare från fyra olika svenska kommuner. Resultatet, det vill säga bland annat vad som informanterna anser vara viktiga faktorer samt vad som utgör hinder för förändringsarbetet inom ekonomiskt bistånd, analyseras och diskuteras utifrån Hasenfelds teori om människobehandlande organisationer samt Lipskys teori om gräsrosbyråkrater. Resultatet pekar bland annat mot att socialsekreterarna anser sig behöva organisatoriska förutsättningar, såsom en rimlig mängd ärenden, för att kunna bedriva ett framgångsrikt förändringsarbete inom ekonomiskt bistånd. Vidare anser informanterna att individuella faktorer, såsom klientens motivation, är av vikt för processen bort från ett biståndsberoende. Bland hindrande faktorer på individnivå nämns diskrepans mellan socialsekreterarens och klientens målbilder gällande vilken förändring som ska uppnås hos klienten som ett exempel. På organisationsnivå anser socialsekreterarna den höga arbetsbelastningen, som ofta råder inom arbetet med ekonomiskt bistånd, vara det största hindret för ett aktivt klientarbete mot självförsörjning. Informanterna betonar att ärendemängden i dagsläget ofta är så hög att det inte är möjligt att träffa klienterna så ofta som det skulle behövas. I ljuset av vad tidigare forskning och vad analysen av den insamlade empirin visar, identifierades i denna studie, utifrån socialsekreterares synvinkel, flera faktorer som anses vara av vikt för ett välfungerande förändringsarbete inom ekonomiskt bistånd. Det intervjuade anser att de (som socialsekreterare) behöver både individuella ”verktyg” och organisatoriska förutsättningar för att kunna bedriva sitt arbete på det sätt som fastställs i Socialtjänstlagen.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjami socialinio darbuotojo veiklos sąlygos kaimo bendruomenėje. Darbe aptariami ne tik bendri socialinio darbuotojo veiklos principai, žinios, įgūdžiai, funkcijos, veiklos sritys, bet ir nagrinėjami kaimo bendruomenės bruožai, apibūdinama socialinio darbuotojo veiklos svarba bei vieta kaimo bendruomenėje. Siekiant atskleisti ir išnagrinėti socialinio darbuotojo veiklos sąlygas kaimo bendruomenėje bei ištirti sunkumus su kuriais susiduria socialiniai darbuotojai, magistro darbe atliekama mokslinės literatūros analizė ir tyrimo analitinė apžvalga, pateikiamai tyrimo duomenys apie socialinių darbuotojų materialines darbo sąlygas kaime, saugumą, santykius su klientais ir darbo organizavimą. Justina Lenkevič Socialinio darbuotojo veiklos sąlygos kaimo bendruomenėje: socialinio darbo magistro studijų baigiamasis darbas / mokslinis vadovas: prof. Habil. Dr. M. Taljūnaitė Vilniaus pedagoginis universitetas, Socialinės komunikacijos institutas, Socialinės sanglaudos katedra. – Vilnius, 2009. – p. 75. / In Master’s final work the circumstances of social worker’s activities in terms of rural communities are being analyzed. Final work includes not only the description of general principles of a social worker’s activities, knowledge, skills, functions, activities’ fields, but also of characteristics of rural communities. Social worker’s activity’s importance as well as workers role in rural communities is being described too. In order to identify and examine the social worker’s activities circumstances in the rural community and to explore the difficulties faced by social workers, in the Master’s final work analysis of scientific literature and analytical review of the investigation is being carried out; research data on social workers work’s material conditions in rural areas, safety, relations with clients and work’s organization is being presented. Justina Lenkevič Circumstances of social worker work in the rural community: Master’s studies final work in Social work / Scientific supervisor: prof. hab. dc. M. Taljūnaitė. – Vilnius Pedagogical University, Social communication institute, Department of Social Cohesion. – Vilnius, 2009. – p. 75.