Motives, experiences and strategies of next of kin helping older relatives in the Swedish welfare context

A qualitative study

Bibliographic Data

ID12608482
AuthorsANNA DUNÉR (0000-0002-2322-8222, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume19
Issue1
Pages54-62
Publication date2009-01-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Social Welfare (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-6866 • E-ISSN: 1468-2397
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-2397.2008.00631.x
OpenAlexW2105555350
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited40

Dunér A. Motives, experiences and strategies of next of kin helping older relatives in the Swedish welfare context: a qualitative study Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 54–62 © 2008 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Next of kin provide the major part of the help given to older people in Sweden, a country where the official goals of formal eldercare are universality and extensive coverage. This qualitative interview study investigates the thoughts and actions of next of kin who provide informal help to older relatives who also receive formal help from the municipal eldercare. Informal help‐giving, in the context of Swedish social policy, was connected with a multiplicity of motives, experiences and strategies. The motives for help‐giving were moral considerations, emotional attachment and ‘out of necessity’. The experiences of next of kin support the idea of ambivalence as a significant feature of informal help‐giving. Different strategies were employed, both active and passive in nature, to manage their situation. The study points out the importance of outlining working forms and methods of collaboration for older persons and their informal and formal networks to lessen the ambivalence experienced by help‐giving next of kin

Ambivalence · Context (archaeology · Next of kin · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Social Welfare · Sociology · Welfare · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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