Migrant Families and Social Quality

Abstract

This article analyses the narrative experiences of families with a Russian background living in South-Eastern Finland focussing on their quality of life. Adopting the theoretical framework of Van der Maesen et al. (2006; 2013), the authors establish a social quality analytical framework in order to scrutinise these families’ quality of life from a social perspective (Van der Maesen & Walker 2006; Van der Maesen 2013; Beck et al. 2001). The focus is on the resources, communality, service experiences, and agencies of the families, analysing their narratives gathered through a series of interviews. Results underline the acts and activities of all family members individually as well as families as units. The families’ everyday lives consist of several active decisions and negotiations regarding elements of social quality. The regularity and reliability of various basic services available to Finnish society enable the construction of their socio-economic security. Social cohesion centres around meaningful emotional support received from within the family and from kin as well as from the majority population and social service providers (Heino & Kärmeniemi 2013). Problems related to the accessibility and usability of services hampered the process of social inclusion experienced among the families. Social empowerment represents a demanding task in the migrant families’ attempts to build a better quality of life for themselves. Language skills are closely related to all aspects of the quality of life observed as social quality.