The roles of the family and the welfare state -: The relationship between public and private financial support in Sweden

Swedish family policies are integrated within a general welfare policy where the state has acquired a significant responsibility for the welfare of individuals, independent of family membership. A common assumption is that the state has contributed to weakening the sense of personal and family responsibility in Swedish families. In this article, the interrelationship between public and private financial support is investigated as are some dimensions of practical help. Drawing on results of a survey carried out in 2001 in Sweden comprising 2666 individuals, this article explores financial support and practical help between family members of different generations. The article presents results regarding the prevalence of private financial support, attitudes to giving support and motives for giving and receiving financial support. The sample, aged from 18 to over 65 years old, was drawn from a public database providing longitudinal data (1993-2001) on public transfers. The respondents supplied information about private transfers given and received over a period of five years. The survey data and the register information from the database make up the full data set.