Emotions and normativity in assessments of children at risk

This article explores the linkage between emotions and social norms, based on gender, nationality/culture, class and (dis)ability, in 14 hospital social workers assessments about parents, in their narratives about children at risk. In various ways, a range of emotions are shown to be linked to normativity. When the feeling of blame was present, other emotions such as worry became stuck to unprivileged groups of parents in a ‘logical’ way in assessments and shaped certain orientations for actions against the parents. By using the concept of stickiness, an understanding of how emotions and normativity works in assessments is developed.