Economic Support, Migration and Agency: The Experiences of Young People in Newly Arrived Families from Syria

Abstract

Research on young people’s perceptions of economic disadvantage has not focused on specific groups, or adversity connected to demographic phenomena such as migration. The current study seeks to explore perceptions about receiving state economic support among young people in newly arrived families from Syria. Participants were young people in families who arrived in Sweden between 2014 and 2016 and were in receipt of social assistance. Analysing interview data using a thematic approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006, Qualitative Research in Psychology, vol. 3, pp. 77–101) and applying Kuczynski and De Mol’s (2015) model of children’s agency reveal how participants’ experiences of social assistance in this study differ from those of young people in previous studies. Rather than connecting social assistance with hardship, limitations, stigma and shame, participants viewed social assistance as sufficient for current needs and providing opportunities to improve the family’s situation. Reciprocity was also highlighted, with participants expressing the desire to contribute to a welfare system from which they currently benefitted.