Av Nilsson, Kristofer
Public trust in the social services organisation and its staff can affect the legitimacy, effectiveness, and accessibility of the organisation, as well as the well-being of staff. Negative perceptions and low trust can have disturbing consequences. However, research on public perceptions of social services and contributing factors is limited, especially in Sweden. The aim of this thesis is to create in-depth knowledge about public perceptions of, and trust in, the social services and its staff, what shapes these, and what they mean for social workers. The thesis consists of four empirical studies, two quantitative and two qualitative. Study I is based on data from Värmland (2010-2018) with almost 5000 individuals. Study II analyses a representative sample for Sweden with around 1700 individuals. The qualitative studies III and IV are based on focus groups with 27 social workers. The findings illustrate that about 40 percent trust the social services staff, and that this has remained relatively stable between 2010 and 2018. Lower income and education levels increase the risk of lower trust, as does previous experience of social services. Approximately 17 percent trust the organisation as a whole, with attitudinal factors, such as satisfaction with democracy, seemingly playing a larger role than demographic factors. Social workers experience that low knowledge, negative perceptions, and low trust characterise public views, and they have developed strategies to cope, in both their professional and private lives. Overall, the dissertation indicate that social workers perceive public trust and perceptions to be worse than they actually are. Nonetheless, trust levels and social workers´ experiences are not satisfactory. Consequently, efforts are needed to increase trust and knowledge and to mitigate adverse views – ultimately improving for both social workers and those in need of support. The findings also suggest how such efforts could be formulated and implemented