From individual vulnerability to collective resistance: responding to the emotional impact of trauma on unaccompanied children seeking asylum

“Children don’t think about these things”: Qualitative research on the relationship views and experiences of former unaccompanied refugee children

“…The participants’ narratives were characterized by a remarkable mixed account of powerlessness and resilience that was challenging to capture (Hughes, 2019; Goodman, 2004), as any classification of the rich human experience has de facto an artificial quality (Anagnostaki & Zaharia, 2022a). However, as shown in Figure 1, the analysis yielded three main themes and several subthemes regarding the participants’ relationship views and experiences.…”

“…Recently there has been growing interest in the concept of the unaccompanied refugee minors’ resilience and the importance of not solely thinking of them as powerless victims. It is argued that it does not do good service to them if they become defined only by their vulnerabilities and we seem them as stuck in a position of being traumatized and of needing help (Hughes, 2019). After all, there is research that shows that unaccompanied minors do not display a sense of victimhood (Goodman, 2004), that after a relatively short period of time most of them are contend with their lives, they appear to have worked the difficulties that typically face refugees (Wallin & Ahlstrom, 2005), and they manage to construct meaningful lives, especially if these are compared to the lives of their fellow countrymen and countrywomen who did not have the chance to escape war (Danforth & van Boeschoten, 2012).…”

“…Assets are the positive factors that reside within the individual (for instance, coping skills), while resources are external to the individual, that is they are positive social and environmental factors (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005; Zimmerman et al, 2013). Unfortunately, when thinking about the adaptation of unaccompanied refugees, resilience is sometimes used to shift responsibility onto individuals to learn to cope with unacceptable social and political conditions (Hughes, 2019). However, we believe that if the resilience of the unaccompanied minors is thought of as something that exists both within the individuals and within their relationships and communities, then a much more complete picture of their experience might be drawn.…”

Adolescences Disrupted in Displacement: The Protective Effect of Friends as Proxy Family for Unaccompanied Adolescent Refugees Resettling in Ireland

“…The diverse lived experiences of UM have typically been conceptualised in terms of the three stages of pre-migration, the migration journey and post-migration [22]. The witnessing or experiencing by UM of terrifying events during the first two stages together with experiences of deep loss, have been shown to increase the risk of psychological trauma [23], especially as the loss of home includes a myriad of emotional associations and experiences in addition to the physical space [22]. Research also indicates that dislocation from family places UM at a significantly higher risk for the development of psychopathology than refugee children living with a family member [24,25], thereby highlighting the context of extreme disadvantage in which they are operating [9].…”

“…The specific challenges of the 'post-migration' or resettlement phase for UASA have also been widely documented [9,46]. Instead of the safety and security which they were seeking, UASA everyday lives are often over-shadowed by the horror of the past, challenges of the present and uncertainty about the future [22,23]. Coping with bureaucratic and insensitive support systems alone can be overwhelming [25,47] and language barriers and navigating complex social services and legal institutions, frequently without adequate support, often increase the experiences of vulnerability and despondency [3].…”