Crossing Countries and Crossing Ages: The Difficult Transition to Adulthood of Unaccompanied Migrant Care Leavers

Abstract

The social changes experienced in many countries have prolonged the transition to adult life for young people. That being said, those who leave child care cannot afford this privilege, in that they do not benefit from the same support and resources, having to confront an accelerated transition which exposes them to increased risk of negative outcomes and social exclusion. Moreover, this transition might be even riskier for unaccompanied migrant care leavers, who are four times as vulnerable, given their status as young people in care, as adolescents, as migrants and being unaccompanied. This paper seeks to explore the profiles, needs, and experiences of unaccompanied young migrants in comparison with other care leavers. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured interview to explore their pre-care, in-care, and aftercare experiences. A highly specific profile of unaccompanied young migrants has been revealed that differs from the other care leavers in terms of worse educational, occupational, and economic outcomes, limited support networks, and more obstacles to accessing aftercare supports. Conversely, they also exhibited some strengths, such as having less pre-care, in care, and aftercare traumatic experiences, less psychological distress and fewer risky behaviors compared with other care leavers.

A Scoping Review of Factors Associated With the Mental Health of Young People Who Have “Aged Out” of the Child Welfare System

“…Having an emotional/mental, sensory/physical disability, or “other” disability was unrelated substance abuse. Gullo et al (2021) examined the mental health outcomes of unaccompanied young migrants ( n = 68), compared to an unmatched group of care-leavers aged 18 to 25 ( n = 73). Unaccompanied young migrants had less suicide ideation, though suicidal ideation was low across the entire sample (nonsignificant differences for suicide attempts; φ c = 0.23; p < .01; φ c = 0.15, p > .05).…”

Readiness for independent living of youth in residential childcare: A comparative study

“…Future studies should consider the influence of a wider array of personal and profile variables in the assessment of ILS in both groups (e.g. type of children's home, socio-economic status and living conditions), considering the inclusion of unaccompanied migrant young people, who face an even more abrupt transition to adulthood (Gullo et al, 2021) and the use of mixed methods to explore young people's views on their readiness and preparation for leaving care. Finally, longitudinal studies including broader age cohorts of young people and studying in further detail the meaning of different experiences of employment (e.g.…”

Interventions to support reproductive and mental health among care leavers: A systematic review

“…Evidence suggests that care leavers do not benefit from the same supports and resources as their non-care leaver counterparts (Gullo et al., 2021), often lacking support from family members and former carers (Häggman-Laitila, Salokekkilä and Karki, 2018). It has also been argued that unaccompanied migrant care leavers may be more vulnerable at this transition period, given their status as young people in care, as adolescents, as migrants and being unaccompanied (Gullo et al., 2021). It is therefore necessary to better understand effective interventions that may promote better, more positive outcomes in this group of young people.…”