Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka sambanden samt eventuella könsskillnader mellan Social Jämförelse, Självkänsla och användande av Sociala  Medier hos gymnasieelever . Enkäter delades ut till 127  elever på en skola i södra Sverige. Eleverna ombads besvara frågor om användningen av Sociala Medier samt uppskatta deras Självkänsla som bygger på Rosenberg self-esteem scale och deras upplevda grad av Social Jämförelse som baserades på en förkortad version (Schneider & Schupp, 2013) av the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (Buunk & Gibbons, 1999). Resultatet visade signifikanta samband samt könsskillnader mellan användning av Sociala Medier, Social Jämförelse och Självkänsla. Det visade sig att elever som spenderade mer tid på Sociala Medier och hade högre grad av Social Jämförelse tenderade att ha lägre Självkänsla. Kvinnor tenderade även spendera mer tid på Sociala Medier, ha högre grad av Social Jämförelse och lägre grad av Självkänsla än männen. I linje med Findahl och Davidsson (2015) studie fanns det tendenser till att Sociala Medier ökat men att aktiviteten minskar. I vår studie tenderade eleverna att lägga ut uppdateringar när positiva händelser hade skett eller bilder på Selfies och vänner samt bilder som redigerats. Detta skulle kunna bidra till en allvarligt skev bild av verkligheten som kan leda till negativa effekter (som lägre självskänsla). Mot bakgrund av resultaten bör fördjupade undersökningar kring Sociala Mediers och Social Jämförelses inverkan på vårt välmående utredas. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Social Media use, Self-esteem and Social Comparison. Questionnaires were distributed to 127 pupils at a school in southern Sweden. Students were asked to answer questions about the use of social media and assess their self-esteem based on Rosenberg self-esteem scale and their perceived level of social comparison that was based on a shortened version (Schneider & Schupp, 2013) of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (Buunk & Gibbons, 1999 ). The results showed significant relationships, and also gender differences in the use of social media, social comparison and self-esteem. The study showed that students who spent more time on social media and had greater social comparison tended to have lower self-esteem. Women also tended to spend more time on social media, have greater social comparison and lower levels of self-esteem than men. The study confirmed Findahl och Davidsson (2015), showing that social media is increasing, but that the activity decreases. Students tended to only post positive events or images on Selfies and friends as well as images edited. This could contribute to a serious distortion that can lead to negative effects (such as lower self-esteem). Given the results, we propose that future studies focus on in-depth research about social media impact on our wellbeing and how modern social comparison works.

Denna uppsats diskuterar fyra unga vuxnas, i Växjö, relation till vinylskivor som format för musiklyssning. Genom den kvalitativa intervjumetoden görs ett försök att beskriva hur informanterna motiverar användandet av vinylskivor, vilka egenskaper som de tillskriver skivorna och hur det förhåller sig gentemot digital musiklyssning. Materialet har analyserats med hjälp av teorier kring retrologier (skapandet av sätt att se tillbaka), affordance (vinylskivans polyvokala egenskaper) och rekontextualiseringsprocesser (vilka egenskaper tillskrivs formatet i en modern kontext). Studien visar på vinylskivans förmåga att frambringa en särskild känsla hos informanterna och hur detta skapas utifrån flertalet olika dimensioner, så som skivans fysikalitet, visuella egenskaper och inbjudan till ett aktivt lyssnande.

This study aims to deepen knowledge of young people with a migration background in Sweden, particularly those with non-European backgrounds, and their transitions from school to work. The focus is on young people with uncompleted upper secondary education (USE), drawing on their life stories, and exploring their perceptions and experiences around school failure, entering the labour market, and/or not being in education, employment or training (NEET). Theoretically the study analyses individuals’ career decisions from an agency-structure perspective, drawing on careership theory, in particular the notions of pragmatic-rational choices, routines, turning-points and horizons of action (Hodkinson & Sparkes 1997), combined with theories on ‘otherness’ (Hall 1990; 1999, Anthias 2002, Balibar 2004, Trondman 2007), and the notion of socio-geographic space (Bourdieu 1986a; Bourdieu 1999, Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1996). Methodologically, the thesis is based on narrative research, and the empirical material comprise life stories of twenty young people (men and women) about their lives, school experiences and time after leaving school. The careers of the young people were developed in fields where they had subordinate positions, based on their family’s mostly limited social, economic and cultural capital, their own short education and limited experience, and the otherness they encoun­tered. Against this background, their educational and labour market career choices are under­stood as pragmatic-rational, enabled and limited by the resulting horizons of action. However, the collected nar­ra­tives suggest that their horizons of action developed from the time they left school when they made different pragmatic-rational choices that changed their posi­tions. Nevertheless, career choices were often made within a bounded agency and reduced op­por­tunities as a consequence of school failure and their own scarce resources. The learning and interaction taking place within the routine periods are both crucial for understanding processes that result in school failure and the subsequent extend­ed period of establishment in working and adult life, and change of horizons of action and habitus. The narratives of the young people showed that school failures and dropout are com­plex and extended processes that are related to education and family, as well as access to power and capital. They also encountered difference-making through the predominant images and discourses of 'immigration' as a social problem and by being located in a specific socio-geo­graphic space that limited their possibilities for action. The family was highly significant and, in most cases, represented security and continuity. The family’s present situation and future was crucial to the young adults, which affected their choices. Hence, their own horizon of action also included the family’s opportunities and horizon of action. The study indicates that there is sometimes reason to speak of a collective horizon of action rather than just an individual one. Institutional and informal support together with young people’s agency may enable positive career development in spite of a lack of resources provided to the young, particularly if schools and other institu­tions would provide more professional and timely support. The overall conclusion is that it would not have taken much investment of resources and effort to have prevented school failure for a large proportion of the twenty young adults in this study. That is the good news. / Osäkra övergångar. Unga utan fullständig gymnasieutbildning: vägarna och åtgärderna i longitudinellt perspektiv

I detta arbete beskrivs intresset för och kännedomen om tre innovativa boendeformer som riktar sig till unga vuxna mellan 18 och 35 år på den svenska bostadsmarknaden. Det belyser det befintliga beståndet av bostäder och unga vuxnas största hinder för att erhålla en bostad. Arbetet tar sin utgångspunkt i den rådande bostadsbristen i Sverige, där flertalet grupper av olika skäl upplever hinder att ta sig in på bostadsmarknaden. Detta bidrar till att offentliga aktörer och olika bostadsutvecklare behöver hitta nya sätt för att underlätta för utsatta grupper att erhålla en bostad. Studien baseras på litteraturstudier av bland annat tidigare forskning, enkätundersökningar med unga vuxna och intervjuer med representanter från olika delar av branschen. Resultaten visar ett intresse för, men låg kännedom om, de tre boendeformerna: hyrköp, ungdomsettor och kooperativa hyresrätter. Dessa är alla anpassade för att avhjälpa problematiken för vissa inom målgruppen, särskilt gruppen unga vuxna, att ta sig in på bostadsmarknaden. / This work concerns the examination of the interest and awareness of three innovative forms of housing that target young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 in the Swedish housing market. It also describes the existing stock of housing and highlights the most serious obstacles for the target group to obtain an accommodation. The work takes it’s starting point in the current housing shortage in Sweden where many groups for various reasons are hindered from the housing market for various reasons. The market is in need for public actors and various housing developers to find new ways to remedy the problem of obtaining an accommodation for these vulnerable groups. The study is based on previous research, surveys with young adults and interviews with intermediaries from different parts of the industry as a methodology. The results show an interest for, but low knowledge about the three types of housing: rent purchases, youth sets and cooperative rental apartments adapted for young adults. These are all adapted to reduce the problem for some persons within the target group to enter the housing market.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka unga vuxna somaliers uppfattningar om psykisk ohälsa och hur de ser på att söka stöd och hjälp från omgivningen. Metoden som har använts är kvalitativ metod och data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studiens intervjupersoner var unga vuxna med somalisk bakgrund vilka var mellan 19 till 29 år varav tre var kvinnor och tre var män. Studiens analys gjordes med hjälp av en kvalitativ manifest innehållsanalys. Resultatet av studien visar att unga vuxna somaliers uppfattning om psykisk ohälsa ser olika ut och att det är ett svårdefinierat begrepp. Unga vuxna somalier upplever även att det inte går att prata öppet om psykisk ohälsa med omgivningen, särskilt bland familjen. Uppfattning om stöd och hjälp är att det undviks, religionen har även stor betydelse och samtidigt finns det kunskapsbrist gällande var de kan söka hjälp och stöd för psykiska besvär. / The purpose of the study was to explore Somali young adults’ perception of mental illness and how they look on seeking support and help from people in the surrounding environment. The method that has been used is a qualitative method using semi-structured interviews. The participants in the interviews were young adults with a Somali ethnic background. There were three men and women and their ages vary between 19 to 29 years old. The analysis was done using a qualitative manifest content analysis. The result of the study shows that young adults Somalis’ perception of mental illness looked different and difficult to define. Young adult Somalis also feel that it is not possible to talk openly about mental illness with people in their surroundings, especially with members of the family. Their perception of support and help is that it is avoided, religion plays a major role among it and there is a lack of knowledge regarding where they can seek help and support for mental illness.

Barn har rätt att påverka sina liv utifrån barnkonventionen, vilket brister i dagsläget. Studien syftar till att synliggöra ungdomars upplevelser och åsikter om påverkan i relation till vuxna rörande det de anser är viktigt att få påverka i sina liv. Få studier finns om vad unga anser är viktigt att påverka eller om vad vuxna kan göra för att främja deras påverkansmöjligheter, varpå även det ämnas undersökas. Studien intar ett agens och empowermentperspektiv. Inspiration för ansatsen hämtas från fenomenologin där fokus kretsar kring individens upplevelser. Resultatet baseras på semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem ungdomar boende i Västra Götalands län, vilka är 16 eller 17 år. Materialet analyserades med tolkande fenomenologisk analys och centrala delar ur det utifrån ungdomarnas upplevelser är: det är viktigt att få möjlighet att påverka allt i sina liv, möjligheten att påverka enklare saker finns, vid komplexa sådana tas de ej på allvar. Att skapa tillit mellan sig och vuxna utgör en påverkansstrategi och samspelet mellan ungdomen och den vuxne påverkar hela processen. Vuxna kan främja möjligheterna till påverkan genom inkludering och att vilja förstå deras perspektiv. Samhället har skyldighet att arbeta för allas lika rättigheter. Så länge ojämlika förhållanden existerar är främjandet av barns rättigheter aktuellt. / According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to impact their own lives, which is inadequately implemented in today's society. The present study aims to highlight experiences from adolescents, who voiced their opinions on their perceived ability to impact decisions affecting matters central in their lives. Few studies exist regarding which areas adolescents consider most important to influence, nor regarding what adults can do to assist them in this. The current study captures a perspective of agency and empowerment and its approach is inspired by phenomenology. The result is based on semi-structured interviews involving five 16-17 year old adolescents living in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. The material was analysed with an interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology. The main findings show that adolescents' view the ability to impact all imoprtant matters in their lives as imperative and that while they do perceive that they are allowed to influence basic things, they are not taken seriously in regard to more complex matters. The findings suggests that adults can encourage impact by including adolescents in decision making and show willingness to understand their perspective. All societies have an obligation to promote equal rights. As long as unequal rights exist, promotion of the UN Rights of the Child is crucial.

The aim of this thesis is to explore how young adults from ethnic minority backgrounds experience social citizenship and social participation. How do they understand their social rights and duties? What are the possibilities and obstacles for their social participation? Based on the background of different studies in Sweden, that usually focus on conditions in bigger cities, this study discusses social citizenship among ethnic minority youth in the context of a middle-sized Swedish town. In contrast to research on ethnicity and youth in Sweden, that discuss social problems and social exclusion in terms of the deficient cultural, linguistic and social competence of the individuals, this study focuses on different kinds of resources and experiences of agency among young people from migrant backgrounds. Their experiences of active social citizenship and social participation fill also a gap in the contemporary research from the perspective of social inclusion. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of social citizenship as discussed by T. H. Marshall (1950), T. Bottomore (1992) and inspired by research on the subjective dimension of social citizenship conducted by R. Lister (1997, 2003, 2007). In order to grasp the subjective dimension of social citizenship, this thesis deals with differentiated expressions of universal social citizenship in terms of agency and participation in different areas of social life. Using a qualitative approach, seventeen people have been interviewed. The interviews have been analysed from an intersectional perspective where gender, age, marital status and longevity in Sweden appear to be concurrent categories. The results point towards tendencies of enclavisation among these young adults usually articulating experience of weak social bonding in relation to the Swedish majority population. Some informants refer to their expectations of living in bigger cities or a third country, and have plans to move as a strategy for better, more integrated and less discriminated conditions of future life. In sum, the central expectations of the interviewees on the improvement of their social citizenship conditions are the following: They want to be active citizens and are willing to contribute to the development of a more inclusive Swedish society. This thesis contributes to our current understanding of how young adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, experience social citizenship and social participation within the areas of: housing, education, labour-market, leisure and policy. / Denna rapport handlar om hur unga kvinnor och män med utländsk bakgrund i en medelstor svensk stad upplever social delaktighet. I fokus står vardagslivets sociala medborgarskap och hur människor förstår sina sociala rättigheter och skyldigheter och på vilket sätt detta påverkar deras medverkan i samhällslivet. Rapporten visar att de unga kvinnorna och männen har engagemang och uttrycker ansvarskänsla och vilja till social delaktighet i det svenska samhället. Samtidig upplever de inte alltid ett fullvärdigt socialt medborgarskap på grund av etnisk diskriminering. Helene Jacobson Pettersson är doktorand i socialt arbete vid Institutionen för vårdvetenskap och socialt arbete, Växjö universitet. Hon är anställd som universitetsadjunkt i socialt arbete vid Högskolan i Kalmar. Detta är hennes licentiatavhandling.

I en sjöfartsfamilj kretsar mycket av vardagen kring de olika perioderna i sjöfararens yrke - hemmaperioder, bortaperioder och perioderna kring hemkomst och avresa. Det finns undersökningar på hur sjöfararen och dennes partner upplever dessa perioder men det saknas kunskap om hur det är att växa upp i en sjöfartsfamilj. Mot denna bakgrund var syftet med denna undersökning att undersöka hur unga vuxna, uppväxta i en sjöfartsfamilj med en periodvis bortavarande sjöfarare, upplevt perioderna när sjöfararen var hemma, borta och kring avresa eller hemkomst. En kvalitativ metod användes och åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta respondenter gjordes. Respondenternas upplevelser varierade men en övergripande känsla var att perioderna av lång sammansatt ledighet när sjöfararen var hemma övervägde nackdelarna med att bara ha en förälder under bortaperioderna. Under sjöfararens bortavaro upplevde alla respondenterna varierande grader av saknad, framförallt vid speciella tillfällen eller högtider, men för många var det en normalitet då de inte kände till något annat. / In a seafaring family a considerable part of everyday life revolves around the different periods of the seafarers working cycle - when the seafarer is home, away and the periods just before and after leaving or coming home. There are studies on how seafarers and their partners experience these periods, but very little on what it’s like to grow up in a seafaring family. Against that background, the purpose of this study was to examine how young adults, brought up in a seafaring family with an intermittently absent parent, have experienced the different periods connected to the seafarers working cycle. The study used a qualitative method and it comprised of eight semi structured interviews with eight respondents. The respondents’ experiences varied but the overall sentiment was that the seafarers long leave periods made up for the disadvantages of only having one parent while the seafarer was away. All respondents reported feeling varying degrees of sadness when the seafarer left and having feelings of longing around holidays and special occasions. Many respondents referred to it as a normality and that it was all they knew.

Background: Older people are faced with special physical and mental health challenges associated with ageing. Over 20% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder. It is known, and has been shown in previous studies, that physical activity can enhance physical and mental health. Meditative martial arts such as Tai Chi are, in most cases, low-intensity mind-body exercises that involve very graceful movements, which are performed in a slow, rhythmical, and well-controlled manner. This makes the practice suitable for older adults. Study aim: To investigate and assess the impact of different types of martial arts on mental health, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and wellbeing among older adults, who are healthy or suffer from a mild cognitive impairment. Methods: This study focused on experimental studies with interventions of martial arts on older adults. Nine original articles gathered from Web of Science (n=1) and PubMed (n=8) were reviewed, compared and summarized. Keywords used were; “martial arts” AND “mental health” in both databases respectively. Results: The practice of martial arts is associated with positive results of both physical and mental health aspects. Tai Chi can lead to improvements of mental ability, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and improve the physical ability of older adults. Conclusion: Martial arts as a means of intervention may be beneficial for the wellbeing and overall quality of life in older adults and should be recommended. However, nine original articles are not sufficient for stating the significance of martial arts on mental health among older adults. Further research is therefore required.

Even though Sweden is considered a high trust society, research on this topic is primarily based on a few standardized survey questions. It is also known that there is a robust pattern of less trustful young people compared to older ones. Still, a satisfactory explanation of this fact is lacking. Thus, the first aim of this dissertation is to map trust among young adults and middle-aged individuals. The second aim is to examine by which factors and in what way different dimensions of trust are determined, focusing on individuals’ life course and consequently experiences. Analytical principles from the life course tradition are used as a theoretical framework. Data is derived from a Swedish cross-sectional nationally representative postal survey on trust, and qualitative interviews using a mixed-methods approach. A multi-dimensional concept of trust is suggested. Participants report relatively high levels of trust in known and unknown people, confidence in institutions, normative notions of trust, security, and trustful behaviour. Trust also seems to be structured according to a closeness principle. Young adults display lower trust levels in general. However, in some respects the pattern is reversed, particularly regarding domains they are expected to be more familiar with. Contrary to the well-established idea of generalised trust derived from predispositions and primary socialization, and particularised trust originating from experiences in adulthood, the results of this study suggest that unique combinations of factors, both individual characteristics and experiences, might explain each of the different dimensions. Often there is a sphere-specific relationship between experiences and later trust, i.e. experiences from one sphere of life seem to exclusively affect trust within the same sphere. It is suggested that as people grow older they accumulate what is called experience capital, which might benefit trust and contribute to an explanation of the age differences.