our findings from a resilience perspective.

Method
======

This study is based on in-depth interviews guided by narrative inquiry \[[@B43]-[@B45]\] to interpret and construct stories of experiences \[[@B45]\]. Narrative methods were judged as suitable as we were interested to explore the experiences of the individuals both in the past, current situation and future prospects, influenced by the surrounding environment in interaction with others. We view the research interview as social encounter, a conversation between two active participants \[[@B44],[@B45]\], led by the researcher around a specific topic, in which meaning is shaped. In this study interviews are understood as narratives, stories told by interviewees about their lives.

Setting, sample and data collection
-----------------------------------

Our sample is part of a larger study including 33 interviews, conducted by the first author, with social assistance recipients in Stockholm County (18 men and 15 women) gathered in 2005--2006 through purposeful sampling. Our primary purpose was to explore experiences of living on social assistance in Sweden. The secondary purpose was to gather data in different local environments to contrast interviewees' experiences. We therefore conducted field work, including interviews, in six socioeconomically diverse areas in Stockholm County (one affluent, one socioeconomically mixed, one outer, and three disadvantaged areas, see Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). Fourteen interviewees were recruited through social services, units working with administration of social assistance benefits in each of the study sites, the others through activities to which social assistance recipients were often referred. The sample consisted of persons with different backgrounds, and long experience of social assistance. Most of the interviewees had received social assistance for several years (up to ten years), and many had also received it periodically.

###### 

Characteristics of the interviewees

  **Characteristics**                