Honor-related violence and oppression (HRVO) became a public and state concern in Sweden in the late 1990´s. The murders of three young girls in the name of “honor” sparked a vigorous scholarly and public debate on the causes of honor-related violence (HRV). Two main conflicting explanations emerged, and the phenomenon was constructed to have either cultural roots or seen as a form of patriarchal violence against women. Since then the debate has continued to raise much polemic in the Swedish society. The aim of this study was to gain deeper understanding of how social workers perceive and manage the conflicting discourses on HRVO in Sweden. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 12 key agents working with HRVO. The in-depth interviews were thematically analyzed. The inductive approach used resulted in nuanced findings that show that a cultural reductionism narrative is perceived as dominant regarding how HRVO is explained and tackled. This and the lack of consensus between conflicting perspectives on how HRVO should be explained has greatly affected the social practice with people that experience HRVO. The findings of this study also indicate that a more inclusive and nuanced framework needs to be utilized to address HRVO.

Syftet med studien är att skapa en djupare förståelse för återfallsprocessen i ett substansmissbruk utifrån intervjuer med behandlare inom socialtjänstens öppenvård. Vidare syftar studien till att belysa eventuella likheter och skillnader mellan män och kvinnors återfallsprocesser. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod genom semistrukturerade intervjuer, vilka analyserades utifrån en tematisk analys. Bekvämlighets- och snöbollsurval har använts, vilket resulterade i nio intervjupersoner, fem kvinnor och fyra män från en kommuns öppenvård. Studien visar att återfallsprocessen är komplex och individuell, vilket innebär betydande svårigheter att upptäcka förloppet. Det börjar alltid med en beteendeförändring mot tidigare levnadsmönster och med tiden kan individen återta sin gamla identitet, där drogen blir det sista steget i återfallsprocessen. Flera generella faktorer synliggörs i studien, exempelvis motgångar, relationsproblem och riskmiljöer. Återfallsprocessen påverkas när individen inte kan hantera medföljande känslor och beteende. Dessutom visar studien att flykten från negativa känslor var den faktorn som direkt kan utlösa ett återfall i ett substansmissbruk. Faktorerna är likartade mellan könen, men studien uppmärksammar däremot hur hanteringen av känslor skiljer sig, vilket har sin bakgrund i könsroller. Män har svårare att synliggöra och visa sina känslor, medan kvinnor i högre grad upplever skuld och skam till följd av samhällets stigmatisering. / The point of the study is to create a deeper understanding of the relapse process in substance abuse disorder in regard to interviews with treatment facilitators within the social service outpatient care system. Furthermore, the study aims to shine a light on possible differences and similarities between the sexes when it comes to the process of relapsing into substance abuse. The study was conducted using a qualitative method through semi-structured interviews, which were analysed by a thematic analysis. Convenience and snowball sampling was used, which resulted in nine interviewees, five women and four men from one municipality’s outpatient care system. The study shows that the relapse process is complex and individual, which causes significant difficulties to discover the relapse process. It always starts with a change in behaviour towards previous life patterns, where the drug becomes the final step on the path to relapsing. Several factors influence the process of relapsing, setbacks, issues with relationships and risk environments. The relapse process is affected when the individual cannot deal with the subsequent feelings and behaviour. Additionally, the study indicates that escaping negative feelings was the single most contributing reason behind a relapse. The contributing factors are similar between the sexes, but the study shows that the handling of feelings differs, which has its background in gender roles. Men struggle to expose and display their emotions while women at a higher frequency experience shame and guilt in relation to society and its stigmatisation.

The purpose of this study was to, through qualitative interviews, create anunderstanding of social workers' experiences of interventions aimed at children whohave witnessed violence between relatives. Understanding should therefore becreated about the implementation of interventions from the perspective of socialworkers'. Therefore, we wanted to create an understanding about what opportunitiesand difficulties social workers experience with the interventions to meet thechildren's needs, as well as which approaches social workers think are important inthe interventions. To find answers to these questions, we interviewed nine socialworkers who currently works or have worked with interventions for children whohave witnessed violence between relatives. In analyses of the interviews, we appliedtheories about discretion and evidence-based practice, along with previous research.From the results, we could see that there are both difficulties and opportunities inthe interventions. Discretion can be used in the interventions to be more flexible andfollow the individual child, while manuals help professionals so that they don´tforget important parts of the intervention. The social workers also expressed thechallenges with knowing how to act in certain situations, and therefore stated theneed for guidance. The result further showed that the interventions createopportunities for children to express their experiences and put to words what theyhave been trough. The social workers though experienced difficulties when thechildren don´t talk in the interventions. The result therefore showed how the socialworkers can use their discretion and professional expertise to handle thesechallenges and facilitate the children’s narrative. This could be done throughworking alongside the manuals and follow the needs of the individual child.Important approaches in the interventions that were expressed by the social workers,were for example the use of tools, relationship building and to relief the children’sfeelings of guilt and shame.

Ledarskap och psykosocial arbetsmiljö inom socialtjänstens barnavård - en kunskapsöversikt  Leadership and psychosocial work environment in child welfare services - a scoping review  Social workers in social services and especially in childcare have for many years been a vulnerable professional group with high staff turnover and a heavy workload. There have long been reports of increased sick leave, retention, burnout, and stress related ill health. This due to work related issues that does not seem to decrease, despite the awareness of the nature and complexity of the job. In the study, the focus has been on investigating which management, leadership and supervisor characteristics that are described in the literature impact and their impact on the working environment. A further aim of the study was to investigate potential knowledge gaps in research of leadership characteristics and their potential effect on the working environment. The results have been interpreted based on the Job Demand-Resource model, the Effort- Reward model and the Managerial Grid model. The results show that the leader's characteristics are important for social workers' health and work environment. Several factors are described to play a considerable role in why social workers choose to stay or leave their workplace. A present accessible, responsive, manager and supervisor who listens, was pictured as positively enhance health in the workplace. Personal-oriented characteristics of managers, leaders and supervisors were found to increase social workers' intention to stay at the workplace.

Enligt den svenska socialtjänstlagen ska allt klientarbete som utförs vara av hög kvalitet (SFS 2001:453). Socialt arbete beskrivs som känslomässigt krävande och därför framställs handledning som ett viktigt stöd för socialarbetare i deras yrkesroll. Syftet med denna studie var att belysa socialsekreterares erfarenheter av extern och intern handledning inom Socialtjänsten. Metoden som valdes för denna studie var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex olika yrkesversamma socialsekreterare inom ekonomiskt bistånd i Södra Sverige. Vid analysen av våra resultat tillämpade vi systemteorin baserat på Parrish, Öquist, Pettit och Olsons sammhälsvetenskapliga tillämpning av teorin. Detta för att ilustrera förhållandet mellan handledning och den kunskap som det ger socialsekreteraren samt arbetsmiljön som en cirkulär process. Denna studie fann att socialsekreterare upplever handledning som något positivt. Intern handledning hjälper dem att utföra sina arbetsuppgifter, medan extern handledning hjälper dem på ett emotionellt plan. Dessutom framhäver de socialsekreterare som deltar i denna studie erfarenheter av otillräcklig handledning. Otillräcklig handledning kan uppstå när handledaren saknar kompetens, när tid inte avsätts för handledning eller när den tillhandahållna informationen inte är anvädbar i deras arbete. Detta resulterar i att handledning istället blir en källa till stress. Denna studie har därför försökt lyfta fram vikten av handledning för professonell kompentens samt handledningens betydelse i relation till socialsekreterares funktionalitet på arbetsplatsen. Om handledning utförs på rätt sätt blir det en tillgång för socialsekreterarens yrke. / According to the Swedish social services act, all client work performed should be of high quaitly (SFS 2001:453). Social work is stated as emotinally demanding therefore supervision i described as an essential aid for social workers in their professional role. The aim of this study was therefore to highlight social workers experiences of external and internal supervision within social services. The method chosen for this study was qualitative semistructured interviews with six different professional social workers within economic support int the southern region of Sweden. In analysing our results, we applied the system theory based on Parrish, Öquist, Pettit and Olson's societal application of the theory, to illustrate the relationship between supervision and the knowledge it brings the socialworkers and the atmosphere as a circular process. This study found that social workers experience supervision as something positive. Internal supervision helps them in carrying out their tasks, while external supervision helps them in an emotional sense. Furthermore, the social workers participating in this study highlight experiences regarding inadequate supervision. Inadequate supervision may occur when the supervisor lacks competence, when time is not given for supervision or when the information provided is not useful in their work. This results in supervision becoming a source of stress. This study has therefore attempted to bring out the importance of supervision for professional competence. Also the significance of supervision in relation to social workers functionality in the workplace. I supervision is carried out correctly, it becomes an assest to the social workers profession.

The purpose of the study is to create a deeper understanding of how the social worker perceives and manages risk signals regarding juvenile delinquency in their practical work. Based on the collected empiricism and previous research, we can conclude that juvenile delinquency is a complex topic, where the problem rarely has a one-sided or unambiguous explanation. Empiricism has been collected through six semi-structured interviews in which the interviewees have been selected through a deliberate selection. In conclusion, based on the empiricism collected, we can establish that social workers' individual perception of risk signals rests on an academic discipline, continuing education, collaboration and practical experience. Two of the interviewees also stated that a gut feeling was a contributing factor. The interviewees point out that it is rarely possible to distinguish a particular risk signal, but when multiple risk signals emerge, the risk is all the higher. However, the interviewees specify that drug abuse and non-functioning schooling are prominent for many of the young people who are at risk. It is also clear that the management is initially based on relationship-building measures, voluntarily and with increasing risks, the management increases to more serious or coercive measures.

The study is intended to show how the social workers and their clients are experiencing the new meeting structure, its problems and opportunities, as well as thoughts and feelings that arose during 2020-2021 in connection with Covid -19 pandemic. The study is qualitative, with a hermeneutic interpretive approach and has been conducted via semi-structured interviews with eight social workers. The theoretical starting point is Aaron Antonovsky's theory of KASAM, Berger & Luckmann's theory of reality as a social construction, George Herbert Mead´'s of Symbolic Interaction Theory, Johan Asplund's theory of social responsiveness and Grissi & Jeding's highlighting that man's most important stress management strategy is to seek social support from others. Conclusions that can be drawn from this study are that the restructuring of work and meeting structure during the pandemic has highlighted a lack of technology and lack of staff knowledge regarding digital platforms where the employer would have gained efficiency and trust among social workers if they had put a little more resources and time to secure up staff in the area. At the same time, social workers express a curiosity about working more digitally in the future. There is a consensus about which clients do not feel good about having meetings digitally and then a great desire is expressed to maintain the meeting structure face to face. Obstacles to digitalisation appear in the form of the client's lack of resources in the form of financial vulnerability, which also becomes an economic issue for the municipality. Difficulties are expressed in creating secure and trusting relationships at a distance, but there is a curiosity to try to meet the client based on his predictions in a new way. In the event of more difficult assessments, however, it is still considered that there is a need for physical meetings. The study highlights a concern that the employer should take the opportunity to, according to an efficiency thinking, remove self-determination in how and when to meet their clients. At the same time, the study points out that the social services can gain both financial and environmental resources by ensuring that social workers no longer travel many hours by car for follow-up or care planning.

The aim of the study was to examine social workers experiences regarding the relationship between emotional labor and professional approach as well as the importance of the professional approach to sexual offenders. The used method was a qualitative interview study with a targeted selection of seven social workers who had experiences of working with sexual offenders. The study was implemented by semi-structured interviews and the emipirical data was analyzed through a thematic analysis. The study’s result showed that a professional approach was indeed a important part of their work, especially when it came to being objective and respectful despite the clients violent crimes of a sexual nature. It was also found that the social workers felt that the professional approach could be affected by the emotional challenges that came with their work. The social workers used strategies to maintain their professional approach in situations that were found emotionally challenging. / Studien syftade till att undersöka socialarbetares erfarenheter gällande relationen mellan emotionellt arbete och professionellt förhållningssätt samt vilken betydelse de upplever att ett professionellt förhållningssätt har, i arbetet med utövare av sexuellt våld. Som metod användes en kvalitativ intervjustudie med ett målstyrt urval av sju socialarbetare med erfarenhet att arbeta med utövare av sexuellt våld. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och insamlade data analyserades genom tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att socialarbetarna ansåg att ett professionellt förhållningssätt var viktigt i deras arbeten och detta genom bland annat att vara objektiv och respektfull trots klienternas våldsbrott av sexuell karaktär. Det framkom även att socialarbetarna upplevde att det professionella förhållningssättet kunde påverkas av de känslomässiga utmaningar som kom med arbetet. Socialarbetarna använde sig av strategier för att bibehålla det professionella förhållningssättet i känslomässigt utmanande situationer.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a social problem that affects both the person living with IPV, but also has its consequences in society. One group that has an additional vulnerability to being exposed to IPV is women with an intellectual disability. There are not many studies that have been conducted in this field, especially in Sweden, and as a result there is not much information on this field. The study therefore aimed to explore the different needs of women who have an intellectual disability and are experiencing IPV and explore how social workers find themselves in their role being able to meet these needs. We conducted a qualitative study, where we held interviews with social workers who work with IPV in municipalities in the southern part of Sweden. We chose to analyze the data by using Lipsky's theory Street level bureaucracy and choose to focus on the concept of discretion. The result showed needs such as protection, economic support, information and counseling support, and also a need for visibility. The results also presented areas in which the social workers felt were both obstacles and opportunities to meet these needs were communication, adaptation, the role of organizations, and collaboration. One conclusion that could be made was that social workers felt that they within their discretion were able to meet the needs, but that it does not always fall within the scope of their delegation and may involve making other contacts and collaborating to meet the needs.

Denna studie avsåg att bättre förstå social isolation bland unga från perspektivet av en socialarbetare genom att svara på följande frågor: Hur arbetar socialarbetare med isolerade unga, varför blir unga isolerade och slutligen vilken konsekvens social isolation får för de som är isolerade. Studien använde sig av en kvalitativ forskningsansats för att svara på dessa frågor genom att använda sig av semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Det empiriska materialet analyserades utifrån ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv och analys utifrån den sociala modellen. Empirin i studien kommer från sex stycken intervjuer med socialarbetare. Resultatet av studien tyder på att socialarbetare använder sig av olika verktyg för att arbeta med socialt isolerade ungdomar, samtliga tar upp relationsskapande som ett exempel. Anledningarna till att ungdomarna blir isolerade kan vara olika, gemensamma resultat var autism, depression, avsaknad av socialt sammanhang, otillräckligt stöd från föräldrar och slutligen internetanvändning. Konsekvenser för de socialt isolerade ungdomar varierar mellan ungdom till ungdom men återkommande tema var försämrad sociala färdigheter, fysisk hälsa och mental hälsa. Vår slutsats blev att social isolation är ett omfattande problem med ett flertal olika aspekter som behöver särskild hänsyn och socialarbetare arbetar ständigt med sin förståelse av situationen och utgår främst från den unge själv och i sitt arbete ändvänder de sig av relationskapande som sitt främsta verktyg. / This study sought to better understand social isolation among youths from the perspective of social workers by answering the following questions. How do social workers work with isolated youths, why do youths become isolated and finally what consequences does social isolation cause for youths. The study used a qualitative research approach to answer these questions by also using qualitative content analysis along with perspectives rooted in general systems theory and the social model. The empirical data in this study comes from six interviews with social workers along with prior research. The results of this study suggest that social workers use various tools when working with socially isolated youths, among these all six social workers mention relationship building as an example. The reasons youth socially isolate can vary, common results were autism, depression, a lack of social context, lacking support from parents and finally internet use. Personal consequences for socially isolated youths varied from youth to youth but recurring themes were weakened social skills, physical health and mental health. Our conclusion became that social isolation is a broad problem with several different aspects that need special consideration and social workers are constantly working with their understanding of the situation and proceed from the youths themselves by utilizing relationship building techniques as their primary tool.