Presentation in REASSESS 2: Family change, public policies and birth rates. The third Copenhagen workshop Nov 2009 Session 2: Organizing modern family life Ulla Björnberg Gothenburg University, department of sociology Sweden Study financed by the European Refugee Fund, Gothenburg University, Nordic School of Public Health and University of Södertörn Resilience and social capital in asylum seeking families in Sweden

The study Families are embedded in an asylum seeking process and waited for decisions about permit of stay several months and more. Period of transition – ambivalence and insecurity, loss of social capital and economic resources. Interviews with 17 families with children from most of them Middle class background considering education and occupation in country of origin.

Basic assumptions social relationships including trust and social recognition are important for the well-being of children and their families. Resilience is a key to well-being. Sources of resilience can be found through contacts with relatives and kin in the country of origin and / or in the host country and among friends and neighbours. Health related effects linked to the ways in which children feel related to social networks, neighbourhoods, schools and other formal organisations and institutional frameworks for reception of asylum seeking families that are important in their everyday lives.

Theoretical concepts Resilience Capacity to resist adversities that they experience as harmful to them and about availability of resources that increase their capacity in the environment, where social relationships are most important. Social capital Structural aspects – networks Soft aspects – the quality of relationships –Social ties are trusting and positive Social recognition Social recognition is an act where the subject attributes a positive value to the other and this implies that the subject commits to act in a moral way and shows regard towards the other.

Results contacts with close relatives in the country of origin have been interrupted compared to the situation before leaving. general pattern among the adults and children is that they have several kindred persons on both sides but when it comes to the numbers with which they have regular contacts they mention only a few. most common reason :different kinds of conflicts including violence or problems within the family circle which has had the consequence that relationships are sparse or nil. Feelings of guilt

Results cont. Family bonding is a strong source of resilience for parents and children, in particular in those families which have many adversities to cope with like lone mothers. The high dependency and reliance on the family however also put high pressure on the family members, since they want to protect family members from their worries. Some adults and children refrain from sharing worries with family members.

Results pattern of avoiding social relationships in communities. Parents and children express a certain level of mistrust against the neighbours and the local community and some parents don’t want the children to have close contacts with neighbours or the homes of their children’s friends. The results suggest that there is a basic lack of trust in the adults and in the children which prevent them to build social capital during their transition period. parents and children prefer to rely on self and the family. Avoid assymetric dependency

Results cont. An asylum-seeker has to appear trustworthy in interaction with the Migration officers and also with public authorities that one is dependent on for services and benefits. To prove worthy of benefits. The asylum-seekers lives in a situation where they have to prove their reasons for stay, but the criteria for permit of residence are unclear to them. Social rights and obligations. Restrictive rules and obligations linked to everyday life limit agency and voice.