The purpose of our study is to investigate young unaccompanied childrens’ experiencesof integration and their coping strategies used to deal with integration challenges in thenew country. The study also draws attention to professionals' experiences of difficulties and opportunities of integration work with unaccompanied children and young people. We applied a knowledge overview, that comprised a phenomenological analysis, based on thirteen articles that were examined on the basis of a criteria template. The results were analyzed with Folkman and Lazarus coping theory and Bronfenbrenners developmental ecology theory.Comprehensively, our results show that unaccompanied children and young people dodesire to establish contacts with the majority population but experience difficulties due to segregation, cultural barriers, prejudice and racism in school. Furthermore, supportive relationships with housing staff and professionals, and mainly peers from the same ethnic group, seem to play a significant role in their well-being and integration process. They also show high motivation and determination to learn the new languageand to educate themselves, which they emphasize is the key to successful integration inthe new country. The results indicate however, that mental illness, few opportunities for language training and organizational barriers in school are barriers to achieveintegration. Comparing the past with one's current life situation and seeking distractions,particularly by spending time with friends and engaging in meaningful activities, are key coping strategies that unaccompanied minors use to deal with difficulties in life. Further, religion as a coping strategy played a significant role in their well-being andability to cope with problems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hig-36788 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Abou-Soultan, Norhan, Ismail, Saga |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för socialt arbete och kriminologi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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