Kari Stefansen

Classed parental practices in a modern welfare state: Caring for the under threes in Norway:

This paper deals with aspects of social class within the modern welfare state of Norway. More specifically, it explores how universal family policy measures are understood and combined by parents in different social classes. Drawing on qualitative interviews with parents, we identified two distinctly different ‘cultural models of care’. Parents more or less followed these models in their own care strategies, although some combined elements from each into hybrid strategies. The cultural models were clearly related to class: most middle-class parents combined the different welfare state measures into a ‘tidy trajectory’ of care, while most working-class parents created a ‘sheltered space’ for care. In the paper we discuss the significance of structural factors for these patterns of care by comparing our findings with similar research from Britain.

Enriching intimacy: the role of the emotional in the ‘resourcing’ of middle‐class children

This paper analyses qualitative interviews conducted with Norwegian middle‐class parents. It explores how a particular type of intimacy – an enriching intimacy – is produced as part of everyday parent–child interactions and considers the notion of the social self that spurs middle‐class parents to seek this very type of intimacy with their child. By so doing it adds to the growing field of research on middle‐class parents’ child‐rearing strategies and the role these strategies play in the ‘resourcing’ of middle‐class children. The relevance of the dimension of intimacy for studies on the parental effect on children’s school achievement is discussed.

Involved fatherhood in the Nordic context: dominant narratives, divergent approaches

This paper focuses on narratives and practices of ‘involved fatherhood’, the ideal of an emotionally present and nurturing father. The geographical context of the study is Iceland, one of the ‘father-friendly’ Nordic welfare states. Of particular concern in this paper are connections between involved fatherhood and constructions of masculinity. The emergence of involved fatherhood is often linked to changes in masculinity ideals, from ‘old’ to ‘new’. Our analysis, which is based on qualitative interviews with parents of young children, indicates a more complex picture. Our point of departure is the narrative of involved fatherhood which is dominant in Nordic policy formation. This narrative is strongly linked to early childhood care and the development of fathers’ individual caring practices – often presented as a prerequisite for gender equal parenting. Other types of fathering are positioned in contrast, representing outdated and deficit forms of fathering. Our analysis suggests, however, that involved fatherhood is portrayed and enacted through practices linked to both ‘orthodox’ and ‘inclusive’ masculinity, both among middle-class fathers who identify with the primary carer narrative and a more diverse group of fathers who do not. We conclude that involved fatherhood comes in different forms that should be further explored in terms of their respective potential and limitations for gender equal parenting.

Understanding the increase in parents’ involvement in organized youth sports

ABSTRACT As part of an ethnographic study on young people and learning (the knowledge in motion across contexts of learning project, set in Norway), we interviewed a diverse sample of parents of young teenagers, many of whom were active in organized sports. The parents described their level of involvement in sport in a way that contrasted sharply to our own experiences participating in youth sports in the 1970s and 1980s. Back then most parents were absent from the sports fields. This new role of sports in the practice of parenthood is what we investigate in this study. The purpose is to further the understanding of the cultural processes that drive what we see as a marked generational change in the relationship between organized sports and the practice of parenthood. In contrast to previous studies, we also focus on the relationship between generational change and classed patterns in parenting. Our data suggest that across social classes, parents see involvement in sports as normal, and as a way to connect to the child emotionally and to further the childs development. We interpret the significance of sports in the parent–child relationship as related both to the normalization of youth sports that the parents experienced when they grew up, and to the new cultural ideas of parenthood that they encounter as adults. We find that there are tensions embedded in this new form of parenthood that are particularly evident in what we call ‘deep involvement’, an intensified form of parental engagement with youth sports that is practiced primarily by fathers in the economic fraction of the middle class. We conclude that the new role of sport in the practice of parenthood is a classed as well as a generational phenomenon.

Social Variations in Perceived Parenting Styles among Norwegian Adolescents

Previous research has documented the associations between parenting and parenting styles and child and adolescent outcomes. Little is known, however, about the social structuring of parenting in contemporary Nordic welfare states. A possible hypothesis is that socioeconomic variations in parenting styles in present-day Norway will be small because of material affluence, limited income inequality, and an active welfare state. This study examines social variations in parenting as perceived by Norwegian adolescents (N = 1362), with a focus on four parenting style dimensions: responsiveness, demandingness, neglecting, and intrusive. Responsiveness seems to capture major divisions in parenting. Adolescents in families with fewer economic resources experienced their parents as somewhat less responsive, but responsiveness was not related to parents’ education. Low parental education was on the other hand associated with perceptions of parents as neglecting and intrusive. Viewing parents as demanding did neither vary with parental education nor with family economy. Substantial variations in parenting styles persist in present-day Norway, and these variations correspond moderately with the families’ placement in the social structure. Indicators of parenting and parenting styles may be useful indicators of some aspects of child and adolescent well-being.

Responsible victims? Young people’s understandings of agency and responsibility in sexual situations involving underage girls

Most countries have a legal age of consent, setting the minimum age for the involvement of a young person in sexual relationships. Engaging in a sexual relationship with a person below this age is defined as abuse, even if the minor has consented. At the same time, underage young people often see themselves as knowledgeable agents across a range of situations, including having sexual relations with older persons. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this article examines the role of the construction of agency in young people’s understanding of different types of sexual situations — from consented sex to situations of physical coercion — involving a minor girl and an adult man. How do constructions of agency affect the labelling of different situations and the attribution of responsibility to the persons involved? The article further discusses how the concept of agency interlinks with gendered sexual scripts in the process of interpretation, thereby reproducing gendered vulnerabilities. The concluding section considers how a contextual approach to youth agency may inform preventive efforts.

Young people’s experiences of parental involvement in youth sport

ABSTRACT Recently parental involvement in youth sport has intensified, challenging the understanding of youth sports as an arena where adolescents can develop their identity and autonomy. On this background, our study explores how adolescents understand and negotiate their parents’ involvement in sport and how they define ideal and undesirable forms of parental involvement. Our empirical setting is Norway, and we draw on data from 16 focus group interviews among 13–14-year-olds (n = 92) recruited from two lower secondary schools. The analysis shows that young people distinguish between different aspects of the sport activity when defining ideal and undesirable forms of parental involvement. When discussing sport as a healthy activity necessary for physical and social development, the young people interviewed approve of parents’ role in regulating and encouraging participation. When considering the athletic aspects and peer sociability, however, they see parental involvement as mostly undesirable. The analysis also shows that the adolescents generally describe their parents as attentive to the boundaries their children draw for them about levels and types of involvement. Therefore, young people should be seen not only as subjected to parental involvement but also as active co-constructors of valid parental roles in and beyond the sporting arena.

Collaborating Against Child Abuse: Exploring the Nordic Barnahus Model

The chapter studies how the establishment of Barnahus in Denmark in 2013 has affected the ability of child welfare case workers to work holistically with abused children. The study presents a theoretical understanding of holistic social work and uses mixed methods to collect data from child welfare case workers within the vicinity of one Barnahus. The conclusion of the study is multifaceted because while the multidisciplinary approach of the Barnahus reflects the essence of a holistic approach, the specific legislation and organisation of the Barnahus represents a more reductionist perspective on social work. The main conclusion of the study is that Barnahus and the child welfare services embrace different holistic approaches to abused children.

Implementing the Nordic Barnahus Model : Characteristics and Local Adaptions

This chapter describes the background for, and implementation of, the Barnahus model within the Nordic countries. It highlights the core elements of the model and the specifics of the Nordic welfare state context relating to the child welfare and criminal justice systems. A contextual and comparative perspective is used to shed light on how the model is shaped by the legal and institutional context in which it has been implemented. Local adaptions of the Barnahus model, specific to each Nordic country, are also identified. Finally, the outline of the book, containing sixteen chapters divided into four broad themes, is presented.

Same but different: Polish and Norwegian parents’ work–family adaptations in Norway:

This article explores how families with young children arrive at and live with different work–family adaptations within a welfare state that strongly supports the dual earner/dual carer model – that of Norway. It draws on a qualitative study among Norwegian-born and Polish-born parents, representing, respectively, ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ views on this model. The analysis aims at capturing the dynamic interplay between structures and policies, and everyday practices. We found that both Norwegian and Polish parents embraced the cultural ideal of the dual earner/dual carer model, but that their perceived scope of action differed. Within the Norwegian group, there were differences related to class, however. Among middle-class Norwegian parents, the model was internalized as a moral obligation and part of identity, making it difficult to voice and cope with work–family conflict. Working-class parents in this group varied more in their identification with this model. Across class, Polish parents, in contrast, used welfare state entitlements eclectically to shape new and more gender equal family practices in Norway and to adjust to changing circumstances. The article illustrates how enabling structures may represent both opportunities for and limitation to individual agency, undermining the assumption of a simple ‘fit’ between work–family policies, work–family adaptations and gender equality in the family.