The content of this second issue of Nordic Social Work Research in 2023 includes contributions related to social workers’ professional judgements, complexities of conflicting rights or considerations, and vulnerabilities. Villumsena & Søbjerg investigate Danish social workers’ encounters and challenges assessing new referrals and the decision-making process. Munobwa, Ahmadi & Öberga have two articles in this issue: The first deals with the issue of client violence among Swedish social workers and the impact on both professional identity and private life while the second article deals with the issue of client violence as a reaction to social workers’ exercise of public authority. Kuusisto, Evilampi, Ekqvist & Juhilaet investigate the constructions of normality, deviance and the techniques of governmentality arising from interviews with workers in an inpatient substance abuse treatment. Survey findings on frequency and factors associated with technostress among Swedish social workers are provided by Scaramuzzino & Barfoed. Lilliehorn, Isaksson & Salanderet present findings from qualitative interviews with social workers in oncology and their perceptions regarding burdensome and rewarding aspects. Sudland accounts for Norwegian Child Protection Services case workers’ experiences of long-lasting, disputed custody-cases and their views of how this may be harmful for the children involved. Mattsson presents findings from interviews with youth workers and managers of their experiences with prevention of violent extremism. Järveläinen, Rantanen & Toikko present findings from interviews with people with a criminal history and their different perceptions of social work according to different social work settings. The article by Hultman & Wissö provides an account of Swedish social workers in child protection services who follow-up with children in out-of-home care, their dialogues with the children, and how this facilitates children’s participation.
Søgaard explores the experiences of marginalised youth participating in an intensive baby robot program and dynamics and interactions between institutional power and participants’ agency, negotiation. Westen, van Vugt, Rosenquist, Lexén, Delespaul & Kroon account for an updated Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) fidelity scale for the care of persons with severe mental illness. In the article by Turesson & Staaf, the experiences and needs of homeless children in Malmö, Sweeden, and how these children’s rights and needs are largely unseen by social services is presented. Kjaran & Kristinsdóttir explore how male perpetrators of violent and abusive intimate relationships in Iceland reconstituted their violent behaviour by working on the self. In addition, Laine provides a book review of Living like a girl: Agency, Social Vulnerability and Welfare Measures in Europe and Beyond edited by Maria A. Vogel and Linda Arnell.