Swedish Reception of Unaccompanied Refugee Children—Promoting Integration?

Wimelius, Malin E.; Eriksson, Malin; Isaksson, Joakim; Ghazinour, Mehdi

doi:10.1007/s12134-016-0472-2

Cited by 21 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The international research on URM covers a variety of different areas such as physical health and screening for different types of diseases (Marquardt et al, 2016;Williams et al, 2016), age estimation (Thevissen et al, 2012) and the structure of care and reception processes (Derluyn and Broekaert, 2008;Wimelius et al, 2017). Further, there is research that explores the everyday life of URM and research that emphasises the need to listen to the minors own voices in order to better understand their experiences in the resettlement countries (Lundberg and Dahlquist, 2012;Malmsten, 2014;Wernesjö, 2014;Herz and Lalander, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug use and criminality among unaccompanied refugee minors: a review of the literature

Ivert

Magnusson

2019

IJMHSC

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Purpose Organisations working with children have acknowledged that unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) across Europe are exposed to environments and situations that put them at risk for becoming addicted to drugs or becoming involved in crime. The purpose of this paper is to study an examination of existing international research concerning URM and of whether, and if so how, issues relating to drug use and criminality among these children are discussed in the international literature. Design/methodology/approach A literature review was conducted using PsycINFO, PubMed, Sociological abstracts and ERIC databases, which together cover the social and behavioural science and also medicine. Findings Findings from the present review show that the issues of drug abuse and criminality among URM are rarely acknowledged in the international research literature. When the occurrence of substance abuse and/or criminality is discussed, it is often in relation to mental health problems and in terms of self-medication, i.e. that alcohol or drugs are used by the URM to cope with painful experiences or mental health problems, and also with the challenges of integrating into a new society, difficulties finding work, unsuitable living conditions and a lack of social support. Originality/value This review shows that several researchers have emphasised that untreated mental health problems, stressful living conditions and a lack of support and control might put these children at risk for substance abuse and criminality, and this suggests a need for further research in this area.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug use and criminality among unaccompanied refugee minors: a review of the literature

Ivert

Magnusson

2019

IJMHSC

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“…Future research can very well examine this possible strategy to increase social support. Further, building on the studies by Riedel et al (2011) and Wimelius et al (2017), we suggest future research to examine how young immigrants' health is affected by taking part in health promotion efforts aiming at integration and acculturation.…”

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…According to van Manen (1997), phenomenological research is attuned toward caring and thoughtfulness which can be a way to meet the challenges of health promotion efforts aimed at young immigrants in Sweden. The health of young immigrants is considered deficient (Wimelius et al, 2017) and giving voice to this group of young people can be a start. The language may have had a limiting effect when young immigrants with rudimentary Swedish language skills were Figure 5 "Worried, sad and alone" (participant 12) asked to write in Swedish.…”

Section: Discussion Of Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ferrera (2017) stresses the importance of initiating health promotion for positive minority youth development, where the youth are involved in the process. Additionally, Wimelius et al (2017) who study the Swedish reception of unaccompanied refugee children call for research including the voices of the children and youth themselves. Riedel et al (2011) suggest that "migration programmes should aim at bolstering migrants's sense of coherence (SOC) by identifying resource factors, providing adequate bio-psycho-social resources, and promoting the migrant's ability to comprehend, manage and find meaning in their new society" (p. 563).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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My heart has no hurt: the health of young immigrants

Bergstrom-Wuolo

Dahlström²,

Hertting

et al. 2018

IJMHSC

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore health from the perspective of young immigrants in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach A total of 25 newly arrived young immigrants attending Swedish language classes in northern Sweden participated by drawing and writing open letters. They continued the open-ended sentence “Now I’ll draw and describe a day when I was feeling good, that was […].” Findings The phenomenological analysis resulted in three themes: longing to be in control for a better life, searching for power in the good and the bad, and striving for a sense of belonging in the new society. The findings illuminate young immigrants’ perspectives of a health-promoting everyday life consisting of agency, reflection and a sense of community. The findings also highlight the young immigrants’ experiences when health-promoting aspects are lacking, characterized by disillusionment, anxiety and loneliness. The findings are discussed with health promotion, health literacy and young immigrants in mind. Practical implications According to young immigrants, meeting basic needs such as food, sleep and housing is health promoting but easily taken for granted. Being able to have a say in matters concerning everyday life, social inclusion and finding power in memories – positive and negative – can promote health in young immigrants. Originality/value The young immigrants were able to communicate via drawings and words to overcome language barriers.

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“…Several studies on refugee children and UMs have dealt with the notion of resilience versus vulnerability (Derluyn, Broekaert & Schuyten 2008;Eide & Hjern 2013;Luster et al 2010;Nardone & Correa-Velez 2015;Wallin & Ahlström 2005). It has been shown that the introductory stage, namely, how these children are received and how the asylum process takes place, has a very important impact on the well-being of these children (Çelikaksoy & Wadensjö 2017a;Söderqvist, Sjöblom & Bulow 2014;Wimelius, Joakim & Mehdi 2016). Some of the important influences identified in the Nordic countries are related to close contacts with persons from the society of the destination country and the time of waiting (Honkasalo 2017).…”

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refugee Youth Who Arrived in Sweden as Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children: <i>Education and Labour Market Well-being</i>

Çelikaksoy¹,

Wadensjö

2019

Nordic Journal of Migration Research

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In recent years, Sweden has been one of the largest receiving countries of unaccompanied minors, compared to other EU member states. Recent studies have increasingly stressed the strength, resilience and agency of unaccompanied minors, despite the traumatic experiences and challenges they face. In this article, we study unaccompanied minors in the Swedish education system and the labour market using register-based data covering the period 2003-2014. We compare this group with accompanied minors and persons of the same age born in Sweden to investigate the mechanisms that facilitate and/or hinder their labour market well-being. We find that unaccompanied minors have problems in completing secondary school but do well in the labour market with regard to finding employment. Our results draw attention to the multifaceted processes that facilitate and/or hinder their labour market well-being.

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Swedish Reception of Unaccompanied Refugee Children—Promoting Integration?

Cited by 21 publications

References 17 publications

Drug use and criminality among unaccompanied refugee minors: a review of the literature

Drug use and criminality among unaccompanied refugee minors: a review of the literature

My heart has no hurt: the health of young immigrants

Refugee Youth Who Arrived in Sweden as Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children: <i>Education and Labour Market Well-being</i>

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