Guiding migrant parents in Nordic welfare states – cases from Norway and Sweden

Parenting Support and its Different Functions – Parents’ Experiences. A Case Study from Norway

“…Parents’ accounts of what the interventions were about, and what they meant to them, revealed that parenting support can have functions or benefits beyond those that the programs were designed for (Joas and Knöbl, 2009; Merton, 1936). This provision of co-benefits was identified in several previous studies (Bråten and Sønsterudbråten, 2016; Hägglöf, 2013; see also Skar et al, 2014) but not investigated further: to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore this issue in detail.…”

“…More than 50% of the participants in each of the seven interventions observed during fieldwork agreed to be interviewed (all parents were asked). The literature has repeatedly called for deeper insights into how parents themselves view and evaluate parenting support, with claims that past studies have engaged more in talking ‘about’ parents, rather than talking ‘with’ them (Bråten and Sønsterudbråten, 2016; Gillies, 2012; Romagnoli and Wall, 2012). The material presented here is based on 44 face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 45 parents (33 mothers, 12 fathers) who had participated regularly in one of these seven interventions 4 .…”

“…In 1995, the Norwegian national government launched its own universal parenting support intervention ( Foreldreveiledningsprogrammet, ICDP ). A few years later, government funding for parenting support was extended to other, non-indicative, structured parenting support interventions such as Circle of Security ( COS ) and Incredible Years ( IY ) as well as to less structured parenting support interventions in local communities (Bråten and Sønsterudbråten, 2016; Wesseltoft-Rao et al, 2017).…”

“…Knijn and Hopman, 2015; Macvarish, 2014; Ramaekers and Suissa, 2012; Richter and Andresen, 2012). In recent decades, the policy legacy and the conceptualization of parenting support policies have undergone fundamental changes (Bråten and Sønsterudbråten, 2016). What is rather new is the framing of parents and parental behaviors as potential risk factors for children’s development, a change that represents a Janus-faced increase in the state’s interest and involvement in families’ lives (ibid.…”

“…The study was conducted in Norway and is based on in-depth interviews with 45 parents who participated in different parenting support interventions between 2015 and 2017. In Norway, parenting support is provided ‘universally’ rather than exclusively for groups who are considered ‘marginalized’ or ‘disadvantaged’ (Eng et al, 2017, p. 26; see also Bråten and Sønsterudbråten, 2016). Consequently, the sample group includes individuals from diverse social backgrounds regarding educational attainment, household income, cultural orientation, partnership, number of children, and country of origin.…”