https://www.mdu.se/

Profeminist research for much of its history has, understandably, tended to focus on making visible the dynamics by which men’s practices have oppressed women, children and other men - and in that way to counter men’s violence. By contrast, the last few years have seen more pro-active attempts to systematically study why some men decide to openly challenge men’s violence - and so how to increase the number of such profeminist allies working directly with men and boys. This chapter reports on part of a recent qualitative study opening up some strategies to advance this vital task. The authors explore the dynamics by which some Swedish men have decided to work towards ending men’s violences in their daily work with men and/or boys. Given space constraints, the chapter focuses on one particularly powerful strategy that our study suggests has been relatively neglected by previous international research: what we call intersectional identification. We highlight how this strategy can be utilized more extensively and broadly than hitherto to maximize both numerically and qualitatively the contribution of profeminist men to challenging men’s violence against women and children.

This paper uses a neo-institutional perspective to examine possibilities and obstacles for participation in coordinated individual planning (CIP) for people with intellectual disabilities. CIP is a tool for interprofessional and interorganizational coordination with the objective of creating a joint plan for a person needing cohesive care. Participation by the service-user is considered important for effective coordination but involving someone with an intellectual disability may require special adaptations. A thematic analysis of interviews with 17 professionals from different organizations in Sweden reveals that service user participation is considered an important goal by professionals, but also that it is difficult to put into practice. The results indicate that CIP is characterized by tensions and policy-practice decoupling that limit the service-users’ possibilities for participation. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The objective of this paper is to further the understanding of young people's experiences of out-of-home care (OHC). The focus will be on the tension between negative and positive experiences of OHC, refracted through the concept of liminality. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with 10 young people aged 15–22 (7 women, 3 men) with long-term contact with social services and psychiatric care. OHC can be experienced as a liminal space in both a negative and a positive sense. It is negative when perceived as containment rather than meaningful treatment. It can also be a negative experience when connected to fear, a lack of influence, and uncertainty in terms of being in between the social services and psychiatric care. It is positive when it is perceived as a turning point that enables positive change. It is then connected to feelings of meaningfulness, being respected, hope, and empowerment. The young people participating in the study also connect their experiences of OHC to a context of greater austerity in the welfare state. They reflect upon the benfits of OHC in terms of costs for society, but also the costs for the young person if the OHC is not perceived as meaningful support leading towards positive change. The participants have complex, interrelated needs and problems, and they also experience institutional gaps between psychiatric care and social services. It is important to overcome these gaps, so that young people are not located in ‘in-between spaces’ in terms of service provision. 

Background In Sweden, antenatal and child health care are offered free of charge to all expectant and new parents. Professionals in antenatal and child health care play an important role in supporting parents. Previous research shows that same-sex mothers face heteronormative assumptions and insufficient support during their transition to parenthood. Objective To explore professionals' experiences of supporting two-mother families in antenatal and child health care. Method A qualitative method with focus group discussions was used. An interview guide was followed, and the discussions were held online. The data was analysed according to inductive content analysis. Settings and participants The participants were midwives (n = 8) and nurses (n = 5) in antenatal and child health care from different parts of Sweden. Participants were recruited through the coordinating midwives and child health care nurses in the different regions. Findings One main category was identified: Striving to be open-minded in supporting same-sex mothers. Health care professionals described meeting well-prepared mothers, with an equal commitment between each other, and mothers on guard against heteronormative views. Professionals provided support through empowerment by creating a safe environment and aiming at providing equal support to all parents or tailored support to same-sex mothers. Mothers described handling challenges, as a balancing act to acknowledge both mothers. Struggling with documents and communication and a lack of information were other challenges to be handled. Professionals reflected on their own professional competence and expressed that knowledge acquired through education, experience and personal interest all contributed to their competence. Conclusions Forms and documentation need to be updated to be gender neutral to be including to a variety of family constelleations. Health care professionals need time to reflect on norms and challenges to better support both mothers in a two-mother family.

The paper uses the concept of recognition to investigate how young people labelled as having ‘complex needs’ experience their encounters with welfare state actors. Semi-structured interviews were held in 2018 with 14 young people, aged 15–22 years, in two Swedish municipalities. The participants have received multiple, long-term interventions from social services and psychiatric care. Research questions are: What aspects in the encounters between welfare state actors and young people may contribute to complexity in their life situations? How can Honneth’s concept of recognition illuminate this complexity? Aspects that have contributed to complexity in young people’s life situations are related to acts of dismissal. These dismissals by welfare state actors are interpreted as forms of disrespect as regards affection, rights or solidarity. Barriers to recognition are also related to the participants’ young age and position as children, and what this implies in a particular society. Our findings show that the difficulties young people face in their encounters with welfare state actors are partly due to the high level of specialization which contributes to an increased organizational complexity. Implications include that, when encountering young people in complex life situations, welfare state actors need to consider the importance of recognition as regards affection, rights, and solidarity. Recognition is central to achieving a positive outcome in working with young people in complex life situations and is expressed in social interactions. Therefore, building relationships needs to be more highly prioritized in welfare state organizations. young people in complex life situations and is expressed in social interactions. Therefore, building relationships needs to be more highly prioritized in welfare state organizations.

The aim was to investigate same-sex mothers' self-assessed experiences of forming a family, and the association between heteronormative information, parental support and parenting stress. Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional study. Methods: In a web survey conducted in Sweden in 2019, same-sex mothers (N = 146) with a child aged 1-3 years answered questions about their experiences of forming a family through assisted reproduction and questions about parenting stress. Descriptive statistics describes the process of forming a family. Pearson's correlation analyses and independent sample t tests were used to test hypotheses about heteronormative information, parental support and parenting stress. Results: Same-sex mothers experienced going through assisted reproduction treatment as stressful, and parental groups as not being supportive. Heteronormative information correlated with both lower perceived parental support and higher perceived parenting stress. Non-birth mothers experienced less acknowledgement and support than birthmothers.

Some have argued that more men should play a role in ending violence against women - but what do we know about those men who are already doing so? Using case studies from Spain, Sweden and the UK, this book highlights those men who are already taking action. Examining the social, cultural, political and economic factors that support men to take a public stance, the authors explore what we can learn from their experiences in order to help build the movement to end violence against women. This important study will inform scholars and students of sociology and gender studies, as well as social movements and organisations working to involve and engage men and boys in achieving gender equality.

The aim of this chapter is to explore Motherhood ideology from the perspective of mothers with a neuropsychiatric diagnosis. The analysis draws on interviews with Swedish mothers with the diagnosis ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and is informed by the theoretical concepts able-mindedness and responsibility. The interviewed mothers experience pressure to comply with what they perceive of as gendered expectations on mothers to possess specific cognitive abilities. Keeping the order, plan and organize family life are described as cognitive abilities that are more connected to motherhood than fatherhood. Experienced difficulties with this type of cognitive abilities are framed by a diagnostic discourse and turned into objects for pharmaceutical treatment. A gender equality discourse is however also used to resist or renegotiate ascribed gendered responsibilities in parenting and gendered norms of cognitive prowess.

Purpose: The aim is to explore how family relations are affected by societal

changes in relation to informal and formal caregiving and self-determination

of older adults.

Design/methodology/approach: Care managers (CMs)/social workers (SWs)

(N = 124) participated in a comparative vignette study including Japan, South

Korea, and Sweden. Systems theory was used.

Findings: Japanese CMs/SWs clearly describe their efforts to create networks

in a relational way between formal and informal actors in the community. South

Korean CMs/SWs balance between suggesting interventions to support daily

life at home or a move to a nursing home, often acknowledging the family as the

main caregiver. In Sweden, CMs/SWs highlight the juridical element in meeting

the older adult and the interventions offered, and families primarily give social

support. Regarding self-determination, the Japanese priority is for CMs/SWs

to harmonize within the family and the community. South Korean CMs/SWs

express ambivalent attitudes to older adults’ capability for self-determination in

the intersection between formal and family care. Swedish CMs/SWs adhere to

the older adult’s self-determination, while acknowledging the role of the family

in persuading the older adult to accept interventions. The results suggest emerging

defamilialization in South Korea, while tendencies to refamilialization are

noticed in Japan and Sweden, albeit in different ways.

Research limitations/implications: In translation, nuances may be lost. A

focus on changing families shows that country-specific details in care services

have been reduced. For future research, perspectives of “care” need to be studied

on different levels.

Originality/value: Using one vignette in three countries with different welfare

regimes, discussing changing views on families’, communities’ and societal caregiving

is unique. This captures changes in policy, influencing re- and defamilialization.