title: Formal amd Informal Support Networks of Families in the Increased Risk Settings
reg no: ETF5576
project type: Estonian Science Foundation research grant
subject: 5. Social Sciences
status: completed
institution: Institute of International and Social Studies at TUES
head of project: Leeni Hansson
duration: 01.01.2003 - 31.12.2005
description: The aim of the present project is to analyse the coping process of families with high risk level, and future prospect of children who come from those families (single parent families, families with one or boths spouses unemployed, etc). The study is based on the ecological model of the family where the main emphasis is on the social environment that forms the exo and mesosystems of a family. The study tries to find out what kind of positive and negative influences these systems have on the coping process of families. Also the ability of formal support systems to provide assistence to the families in need, and the role of informal support networks, is investigated.
The study makes use of the data of the representative population surveys carried out by the research team in the 1980s and 1990s. A new survey is planned to be carried out in 2003. In the surveys similar sets of questions have been used, and accordingly the data allow to follow the changes that have taken place in the everyday life of families of different types in the last decades.
The qualitative part of the project is focused on the problem families. The problems of socialisation of children who come from the familes with high risk level, and the role of formal and informal networks in avoiding the reproduction of problem groups, are of special interest.
As the result of the study, a book is going to be published in 2005. The results of the study are also of practical value for the institutions who have to deal with problems of families in risk settings, as well as with children who come from such kind of families.

project group
no name institution position  
1.Niina DermanTPU IISSassistant 
2.Kati Hammer-PratkaTPU IISSresearcher 
3.Leeni HanssonInstitute of International and Social Studies at TUESsenior researcher 
4.Eda HeinlaTPU IISSresearcher