The role of child protection professionals in enhancing parenting among immigrants in Gothenburg: the perspectives of child protection professionals in Gothenburg

Abstract

This study documented the role that child protection professionals play in enhancing parenting in Gothenburg – Sweden. It sought to answer three research questions, namely: what expectations do child protection professionals hold about parenting? What difficulties do immigrant parents in Gothenburg face? And what services are put in place to help immigrant parents to bring up their children in a way acceptable in Sweden? The qualitative research approach was used. Seven (7) child protection professionals were selected through a snowball sampling technique. A face-to- face interview was conducted to collect data from five (5) child protection professionals at Social Services and two (2) from a Resource Centre. Two groups of professionals working with the Social Services and a Resource Center (names withheld for ethical reasons) – were found to play important roles in child protecting in Gothenburg. They play investigative and care roles respectively and approach work differently – although they have a common goal towards child protection. The professionals have expectations about parenting which helps them to describe good parenting. They include showing love, handling disagreement and showing commitment to children. These expectations reflect consciousness about the new conceptions of childhood while meeting them, indicates practice of authoritative parenting – good parenting practice – that seldom leads to contacts with the child protection system. Professionals are conscious of three categories of challenges faced by parents whom they engage. They include “difficulty in meeting high parental standards and “relational challenges” - which were found common to both Swedish and non-Swedish parents. A third-category challenge involving individual and structural challenges was found to be specific to immigrant parents. It was found that although immigrants experience specific and/or multiple challenges, immigrant-specific services hardly exist (apart from language and cultural interpreters). This was mainly because professionals are not allowed to see differences but needs and seem to be solving structural challenges at the individual level. Child protection professionals perform important roles in parenting through the available services. However, the special needs of African immigrants need to be considered in order to provide them with services that specifically meet their needs.