Planting Sunflowers in the Shadow of Prisons - Exploring Community-Based Support for Children with Incarcerated Parents
(2025) CCRM20 20251Sociology
- Abstract
- The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how the Swedish community support organizations BUFFF and Solrosen support children and youths with incarcerated parents with a focus on how they address stigma, provide safe spaces, and help prevent intergenerational criminality. Through semi-structured interviews with professionals from both organizations, this thesis examines how these children are affected by social exclusion and emotional strain, and how early community-based interventions can offer meaningful support. Departing from theories such as labeling theory, the theory of stigmatization as well as general strain theory, a thematic analysis of the material shows that both BUFFF and Solrosen work actively to reduce shame,... (More)
- The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how the Swedish community support organizations BUFFF and Solrosen support children and youths with incarcerated parents with a focus on how they address stigma, provide safe spaces, and help prevent intergenerational criminality. Through semi-structured interviews with professionals from both organizations, this thesis examines how these children are affected by social exclusion and emotional strain, and how early community-based interventions can offer meaningful support. Departing from theories such as labeling theory, the theory of stigmatization as well as general strain theory, a thematic analysis of the material shows that both BUFFF and Solrosen work actively to reduce shame, challenge negative labels, and create environments where children feel seen, heard, and validated. These safe spaces allow children to process difficult emotions and access information that is otherwise kept from them, all while building resilience. By promoting both the children's emotional wellbeing and working with long-term prevention, the organizations play a vital role in breaking cycles of harm and offering children alternative futures beyond the shadow of incarceration. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- What happens to a child when their parent goes to prison? Usually, when a crime has been committed, the focus is on the person who committed the crime or the victims and their family - but the family of the perpetrator is more often than not overlooked. In Sweden, thousands of children face the difficult reality of having an incarcerated parent - but few people talk about them. They have done nothing wrong, yet they are often met with silence, shame, or even blame. Many experience stigma and exclusion, both at school and in their general lives.
This thesis explores how two Swedish support organizations, BUFFF and Solrosen, work to aid children and youths who have incarcerated parents. Through interviews with professionals who work closely... (More) - What happens to a child when their parent goes to prison? Usually, when a crime has been committed, the focus is on the person who committed the crime or the victims and their family - but the family of the perpetrator is more often than not overlooked. In Sweden, thousands of children face the difficult reality of having an incarcerated parent - but few people talk about them. They have done nothing wrong, yet they are often met with silence, shame, or even blame. Many experience stigma and exclusion, both at school and in their general lives.
This thesis explores how two Swedish support organizations, BUFFF and Solrosen, work to aid children and youths who have incarcerated parents. Through interviews with professionals who work closely with the families, the findings show how these support organizations help the children by creating safe spaces where they can talk about their experiences, ask questions, and simply be heard without judgment.
The support does not stop there, however. The study also looks at how this kind of assistance can help prevent children from following the same path as their incarcerated parent. By addressing emotional needs early on, reducing shame, and offering guidance, BUFFF and Solrosen play a key role in breaking cycles of intergenerational criminality. Their work shows that with the right tools and understanding, children don’t have to carry the weight of their family’s sentence. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9213521
- author
- Mohamud Salad, Yasmin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- CCRM20 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- children, CIP, BUFFF, Solrosen, incarceration, intergenerational, stigma
- language
- English
- id
- 9213521
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-03 17:13:29
- date last changed
- 2025-10-03 17:13:29
@misc{9213521,
abstract = {{The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how the Swedish community support organizations BUFFF and Solrosen support children and youths with incarcerated parents with a focus on how they address stigma, provide safe spaces, and help prevent intergenerational criminality. Through semi-structured interviews with professionals from both organizations, this thesis examines how these children are affected by social exclusion and emotional strain, and how early community-based interventions can offer meaningful support. Departing from theories such as labeling theory, the theory of stigmatization as well as general strain theory, a thematic analysis of the material shows that both BUFFF and Solrosen work actively to reduce shame, challenge negative labels, and create environments where children feel seen, heard, and validated. These safe spaces allow children to process difficult emotions and access information that is otherwise kept from them, all while building resilience. By promoting both the children's emotional wellbeing and working with long-term prevention, the organizations play a vital role in breaking cycles of harm and offering children alternative futures beyond the shadow of incarceration.}},
author = {{Mohamud Salad, Yasmin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Planting Sunflowers in the Shadow of Prisons - Exploring Community-Based Support for Children with Incarcerated Parents}},
year = {{2025}},
}