Family formation and earnings

• The overall goal of this study is to find out what impact work, education and the individual life story have on individual’s transition to parenthood in contemporary multiethnic Sweden. Does family formation differ between individuals with Swedish and individuals with other ethnic background? The study is based on interviews with a life story approach with three different groups of couples that recently have become parents (first child 6-15 months). The groups are young adults with parents born in Sweden, young adults with parents born in Turkey and a mixed group of couples where one part has parents born in Sweden and one in Turkey. The main focus is to explore why these couples have taken the decision to become parents at this stage of their lives. Which kinds of considerations, experiences and knowledge are important for their choices? What does it mean to become a parent, how does individual and collective structures interact in the decision to become a parent, how does men and women balance independence and autonomy with class and ethnicity taken into account, how does men and women balance their individual versus the collective family project? The study deals with commonalities and differences between the three groups in relation to the Swedish welfare system and to traditions in each group based on culture, nationality and family traditions. The analysis shows so far that starting a family is much more of an individual life project for the Swedish group of parents. The Swedish social policy and insurance system seem to have an impact on their way of acting. Economy, work and housing conditions are very important for their decision. For the Turkish group starting a family is much more of a collective project related to culture and family traditions. They do not have the same reliability on the welfare state but more on their own families. The mixed group have more of negotiations and conflicts, trying to balance their different views of family life. Key words: family life, welfare, autonomy/dependency, ethnicity

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

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