Low-income families in Sweden struggle with exclusion
In a recently conducted study, researchers from Stockholm University and Oxford University shed light on how families in Sweden with low income are struggling with the sense of being excluded. Dealing with low income issues both substantial effort and a lot of time, the researchers note.
Families in Sweden generally enjoy high living standards, but there are also significant inequalities. Therefore, researchers at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University held focus groups consisting of families with various backgrounds interviewed to understand different families' capacities to respond to socioeconomic risks. The interviews were analyzed by Professor Mary Daly from Oxford University and are part of the EU-funded rEUsilience project.
Concern for the children is paramount
In the interviews, low-income families described tight margins that has become worse during recent inflation. Common to them all was the concern, especially, about not being able to meet the Swedish norm for optimal child upbringing. Concerns about their children feeling left out, experiencing loneliness, and facing mental health issues were prevalent.
There were examples of parents being worried that their child would not have anything to tell at school after the holiday, or about a child offering to sell their computer game to buy a bike and play outside with friends, says Lovisa Backman who conducted the interviews.
Several families described how they sought help from the government during particularly challenging times but often heard that their situation was not severe enough to qualify for support. Instead, families are forced to rely to voluntary sector providers to receive food support, labour market preparation, and discounted activities for children. Such support is considered very valuable, but often insufficient.
– The study does not speak to how common these experiences are, but we know from official European statistics that one in four single parents has an income below the European poverty line. And one in eight single parents with a non-EU migration background doesn't even have an income covering necessities for their family and children, says Rense Nieuwenhuis, research leader.
The importance of jobs
Several participants mentioned the lack of employment as one of the strongest factors contributing to the feeling of exclusion. Especially, difficulties in combining work with other responsibilities, particularly as a single parent or when a family member is sick or has a disability. They described how they sought educational opportunities, job training, and language courses to improve their employment prospects but also how motivation and confidence are affected by recurrent rejections. One interview participant said: “It takes a lot of struggling for one person who needs help to get help. It’s not only the economical part that is hard to get, but also assistance to take care for children, sick children for example. And when you don’t get this help, the rest starts falling apart around you, the family too.”
What really stood out for us was how much effort and time it takes to live on a low income. At the same time, many described the experience of a lack of understanding from society's side regarding their situation and the difficulty of accessing support when needed, say Lovisa Backman and Rense Nieuwenhuis.
Contact
Lovisa Backman
lovisa.backman@sociology.se
PhD candidate at the department of sociology and the Swedish intitute of social research (SOFI) of Stockholm University.
About the project
The rEUsilience project is a large, international project funded by the European Commission. It is focused on understanding families’ differential capacities to respond to socio-economic and other risks and the resulting dilemmas and inequalities facing European families in a context of changing labour markets and welfare states. The project also works together with stakeholders to make recommendations at various policy levels.
The rEUsilience project is coordinated by Stockholm University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and further includes teams from Belgium, Croatia, Poland, and Spain. In Sweden, seven focus groups were organised with in total 38 participants. The report based on these focus group interviews is publicly available, but not yet peer-reviewed.
The Stockholm team involved with the focus group interviews are:
Lovisa Backman, PhD candidate at the department of sociology and the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) of Stockholm University
Rense Nieuwenhuis, Associate professor at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) of Stockholm University
Mary Daly, professor in sociology and social policy at Oxford University
Read more about the rEUsilience project here
Last updated: November 27, 2023
Source: SOFI