From obligations to negotiations: reciprocity and reflexivity in informal financial support

Crowding out, crowding in or just a matter of transformation? Informal financial support in Portugal and Sweden

“…This argument has been stressed by the 'New Institutionalism' and, for example, Rothstein (1998) highlights the determinative and formative role of institutions in shaping social relations within and beyond the family. Results from previous studies also confirm that negotiations and agreements about support at the individual level are influenced by norms and principles embedded in formal welfare state systems (Espvall, 2008).…”

“…Together, the clashing of norms and a growing ambivalence require, increasingly, that the individual must initially reflect upon her needs for support and her relationships, before communicating these needs in a way that is, in many respects, analogous to a form of negotiation (Espvall, 2008;Espvall & Dellgran, 2010). Even if contemporary debate about the characteristics of welfare state and the social network responsibilities emphasises the ways in which different welfare regimes assume a model of informal responsibilities, empirically based analyses of the nature of the norms and attitudes that are involved in negotiations of social support within social networks are surprisingly few.…”

Can we count on each other? Reciprocity and conflicts in financial support in Sweden

“…Earlier studies also confirm that, at the individual level, the internal qualities, motives and the joint history of support exchange differ with regard to the type of relationship, i.e. whether there are familial ties, or whether the relationship is one based on friendship or collegiality (Espvall, 2008).…”

Participation and coping

“…Social support from the environment might strengthen the service users' experiences of participation and/or coping. Having access to and ability to mobilize individual or environmental resources is central to strengthening participation in coping with everyday challenges (Thoits, 1995;Espvall, 2008).…”