Arbetsmarknadsstatus, krav och stöd: Ensamstående bidragsmottagare med problematisk alkoholkonsumtion

Abstract

Aims In the study social assistance case files of single male clients with problematic alcohol consumption were studied. The aim was to see whether actions by the social worker also did focus on treating the client's drinking problem and if so, if the client's labour-market status influenced the decision made by the social worker. Methods & Data The study investigated all case files from nine municipalities during 1999 that involved social assistance to single men over an extended period (six months or more) or contacts over several intervals (three contacts or more). Alcohol-related notes were present in 297 case files and in these files, data were collected on the client's age, first contact with the social service system, ability to support oneself financially through work, type of alcohol-related notes and notes on type of actions and decisions by the social worker. Within the 297 case files, four groups of clients emerged. Two of them were chosen: those judged as fully capable of working (C group = 122 clients) and those not able to work at all (N group = 48 clients): These were then compared mainly in relation to the notes of actions/decisions by their social worker. Data were not randomly sampled and the results can thus not be interpreted as representative for a larger population. However, there is no obvious reason to believe that the social work done in the study municipalities differs from the work done in other similar municipalities. Results The main result shows that demands for participation in some kind of treatment and/or providing “proof” of soberness in order to receive a higher extent of social assistance were found more in the C group than in the N group Conclusions The fewer demands for treatment/soberness in the N group might be interpreted as reflecting a greater extent of social care for this group, in terms of social assistance, but a lesser extent of social care in terms of concerns of their possible problematic drinking.