This article discusses how a selection of service providers talk about unaccompanied minors as a specific group of children and how these constructions relate to the way in which the service ...providers articulate what they see as their prime work and obligations amid these children and youth. The interview data were collected as part of two separate follow-up studies conducted in two different parts of Sweden, where the municipal reception of unaccompanied minors was explored. The analysis points to how three rather different and opposing, yet overlapping, narratives were brought to the fore by the service providers. The unaccompanied minors could be framed as unproblematic youngsters (not in danger), problematic youngsters (possibly dangerous), or examples of any other child in a specific problematic situation (in danger). These constructions influenced what aid or intervention was deemed legitimate. The findings have important policy implications because they point to the need to address and reflect on the underlying categorizations that social workers and service providers maintain and reproduce when they talk about specific client groups, such as unaccompanied children and young people, as these categorizations may come to have real consequences and implications for the unaccompanied children affected by these constructions.
•1.25 generation immigrants encounter gendered barriers to K-12 school enrollment.•Economic needs push 1.25 generation men into low-wage work rather than school.•Unpaid care work and lack of ...information kept 1.25 generation women out of school.•Addressing the 1.25 generation’s enrollment barriers requires targeted approaches.
This paper examines the barriers to school enrollment experienced by 1.25 generation Mexican and Central American immigrants who are undocumented. Arriving between the ages of 13 to 17, a segment of 1.25 generation youth never enroll in traditional K-12 schooling in the United States. Existing literature shows that work demands conflict with traditional U.S. schooling and that lack of information presents barriers to enrollment. I build on existing knowledge by showing that these barriers are gendered. Consistent with existing studies, I find economic needs push 1.25 generation men into low-wage work rather than school. Paid work demands, however, was not the main barrier encountered by 1.25 generation young women. Rather, providing unpaid care work along with lack of information and support kept young women out of school. Ultimately, I urge stakeholders to expand how we think about the work demands keeping 1.25 generation youth out of schooling and call for more targeted supports to address their enrollment barriers.
Abstract
This qualitative study investigated the refugee journey of 17 males who arrived in Australia as unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors between 2009 and 2013, and were granted protection visas. ...The article focuses on the four conceptual challenges of refugee journeys, as identified recently by BenEzer and Zetter: temporal characteristics; drivers and destinations; the process/content of the journey; and the characteristics of the wayfarers. The findings indicate that their mental journey has not yet ended and transcends the physical departure–arrival voyage. Although the primary drivers for the refugee journey were protection reasons, their desire to find a ‘better life’ free from violence and exclusion also played an important role. The irregular character of the journey made it highly unpredictable, exposed these minors to extreme levels of vulnerability and the need to remain invisible, prompted short-lived friendships with other asylum seekers, and created a pervasive feeling of mistrust towards smugglers and other people they met along the way. The study has highlighted the need for interventions to protect unaccompanied minors during their refugee journey.
Abstract
Settling in a new host country as an unaccompanied minor holds a lot of challenges such as adaptation of new social norms, learning a new language and understanding a new culture. Social ...networks may foster good conditions for settlement in the host community but little is known about the availability, quality and significance of social networks for unaccompanied minors (UM) in Sweden. The aim of this qualitative grounded-theory situational study was to explore experiences of social networks among UM and the significance of those networks for becoming established in Sweden, based on data from in-depth interviews with 11 young persons. Unaccompanied young persons were broadly found to be involved in three different kinds of networks: professional carers, like-ethnic friends and ‘Swedes’ in general. Networks with professionals (i.e. linking social capital) were perceived as both a secure base and a source of rejection, and could either facilitate or obstruct the establishment. Supporting networks with like-ethnic friends (bonding social capital) proved to be the most available and important resource for becoming established, while access to networks with Swedes (bridging social capital) was in general low but still perceived as important for becoming established, not least for reducing language and cultural barriers.
This article examines how newcomer immigrant teens navigate a heightened, anti-immigrant climate in the United States. Drawing on 24 months of ethnographic observations and interviews with adolescent ...arrivals who immigrated in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election, this study highlights the nuanced ways adolescent arrivals negotiate their precarious situations. For newcomer teenagers navigating two life-changing transitions at once - adolescence and immigration - their experiences coalesce producing distinct levels of stress and anxiety for the youth. This study finds that amid hardships and dire circumstances that surround them, the youth use humour as a lens to process their experiences. I find that the youth engage in humour as a form of political expression to make fun of social conditions. They do this by mocking and ridiculing anti-immigrant discourses. This play world created by the youth provides an alternative understanding of immigrant youth culture during contested political times.
Despite growing numbers of unaccompanied refugee minors (UMs) in Europe, and evidence that this group is at risk of developing mental health problems, there still remain important knowledge gaps ...regarding the development of UMs’ mental health during their trajectories in the host country and, in particular, the possible influencing role of traumatic experiences and daily stressors therein. This study therefore followed 103 UMs from the moment they arrived in Belgium until 18 months later. Traumatic experiences (SLE), mental health symptoms (HSCL-37A, RATS) and daily stressors (DSSYR) were measured at arrival in Belgium, after 6 and 18 months. UMs reported generally high scores on anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Linear mixed model analysis showed no significant differences in mental health scores over time, pointing towards the possible long-term persistence of mental health problems in this population. The number of traumatic experiences and the number of daily stressors leaded to a significant higher symptom level of depression (daily stressors), anxiety and PTSD (traumatic experiences and daily stressors). European migration policies need to reduce the impact of daily stressors on UMs’ mental health by ameliorating the reception and care facilities for this group. Moreover, regular mental health screenings are needed, in combination with, if needed, adapted psychosocial and therapeutic care.
Αlthough unaccompanied refugee minors have sadly been and still are a part of the movements observed worldwide of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing persecution, violence and war, there seems ...to be limited research on their relationships from their viewpoint. The present study explored the relationship experiences of former unaccompanied refugee children (now older adults). During the Greek civil war (1944–1949) thousands of children between the ages of three to 14 were taken from their villages in Greece and settled as unaccompanied refugees in institutions in countries of the former Eastern Bloc. The research sought to gain a rich understanding of their views and experiences regarding personal relationships. Nine older adults (8 men and 1 woman), who were separated from their families when they were younger than 10 years of age, were interviewed. Their narratives were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The themes that emerged from the analysis demonstrated that attachment ties to their parents were severely affected by separation raising questions as regards the existence of attachment representations, the importance of relationships seemed generally undermined, while the role of peers was accentuated. The participants’ resilience and coping mechanisms are also discussed.
A number of researchers have examined undocumented migration from Central America. This literature lacks information about adult beliefs regarding the motivations of minors who journey from Central ...America unaccompanied and undocumented. Using data from a recent survey conducted in Honduras, we examine adult Hondurans’ beliefs about why unaccompanied minors leave the country unaccompanied. The dependent variable is a dummy variable that measures “why children leave the country.” Predictor variables are attitudes toward smuggling, willingness to leave without documentation, deportation experience, age, income, and residence in the northern part of Honduras. Using multinomial logistic regression, we find support for four of the eight hypotheses. Findings indicate that adults from the northern region are most likely to believe minors would leave for reasons associated with undocumented immigration. Those who are younger, with lower incomes, and with less access to sanitation are more likely to believe minors would leave without documentation.
Age assessment of migrants is crucial, particularly for unaccompanied foreign minors, a population facing legal, social, and humanitarian challenges. Despite existing guidelines, there is no unified ...protocol in Europe for age assessment.
The Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) conducted a comprehensive questionnaire to understand age estimation practices in Europe. The questionnaire had sections focusing on the professional background of respondents, annual assessment numbers, requesting parties and reasons, types of examinations conducted (e.g., physical, radiological), followed protocols, age estimation methods, and questions on how age estimates are reported.
The questionnaire's findings reveal extensive engagement of the forensic community in age assessment in the living, emphasizing multidisciplinary approaches. However, there seems to be an incomplete appreciation of AGFAD guidelines. Commonalities exist in examination methodologies and imaging tests. However, discrepancies emerged among respondents regarding sexual maturity assessment and reporting assessment results. Given the increasing importance of age assessment, especially for migrant child protection, the study stresses the need for a unified protocol across European countries. This can only be achieved if EU Member States wholeheartedly embrace the fundamental principles outlined in EU Directives and conduct medical age assessments aligned with recognized standards such as the AGFAD guidelines.
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