‘If we want, they help us in any way’: how ‘unaccompanied refugee minors’ experience mentoring relationships

Raithelhuber, Eberhard

doi:10.1080/13691457.2019.1606787

Cited by 18 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…Several qualitative studies on asylum seekers in Sweden and Australia have underscored the culturally specific needs of mentees to feel safe and protected, the need for social support and social capital, and their strong desire to fit in and move forward with their lives [ 167 ]. Garraway and Pistrang [ 107 ], stressed the need to combine dyadic and group settings of mentoring among African-Caribbean young people, as the African-Caribbean culture values collectivism and community relationships.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking Community-Based Youth Mentoring Relationships: An Integrative Review

Goldner

Ben-Eliyahu

2021

IJERPH

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Formal community-based youth mentoring relationships (CBM) are a popular form of intervention worldwide in which caring, non-parental adult figures are matched with at-risk children (i.e., children who experience an intense and/or chronic risk factor, or a combination of risk factors in personal, environmental and/or relational domains that prevent them from pursuing and fulfilling their potential) to promote development and health. Common models suggest that a close mentoring relationship is needed for the success of the intervention. However, it remains unclear which key relational processes and variables promote relationship quality to generate the most significant benefits. Using the PRISMA framework, 123 articles were identified as relevant for this review which explores the state of the literature on CBM relationships describing the main findings regarding the characteristics of the relationship and the mediating and moderating variables. An essential ingredient that consistently emerged for generating mentoring outcomes is characterized by feelings of support, sensitivity, and trust and accompanied by a purposeful approach to shaping the goals of the relationship. A balanced approach comprised of recreational, emotional, and catalyzing aspects has been reported as essential for mentoring success. Mentors’ positive attitudes toward underprivileged youth, maturity in terms of age and experience are essential in forging positive relationships. Mentees who have better relational histories and more positive personality traits exhibited higher relationship quality. However, data imply the possibility of addressing mentees from moderate risk status. Preliminary evidence on thriving as a mediating variable was found. Program practices, such as training, parental involvement, and matching based on perceived similarities and similar interests, emerged as important factors. Generating many research suggestions, the review identifies research questions and uncharted territories that require inquiry.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking Community-Based Youth Mentoring Relationships: An Integrative Review

Goldner

Ben-Eliyahu

2021

IJERPH

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“…During the programme, the mentors acted as agents for the empowerment of immigrant minors in a process through which the mentees acquired tools to gain autonomy in the new country and achieve life goals. In Europe, Raithelhuber [ 25 ] reached similar results and found that mentoring served as a springboard for the efficient integration of the youths participating in the study, unaccompanied refugees who, thanks to their mentors, saw their opportunities for civic participation increase. In the North American context, other studies corroborated both the more practical and instrumental effects of mentoring, such as learning the new language, improving academic performance or the acquisition of social skills [ 26 ], and the more emotional effects.…”

Section: Mentoring With Vulnerable Adolescentsmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Some of these benefits involve an improvement in their emotional and cognitive skills, as well as better social development. The mentees that participated in the project, as has been observed in other participants of formal mentoring programmes aimed at the inclusion of young people of foreign origin [ 25 , 59 ], improved their access to social capital resources, whose social networks constitute the framework in which support exchanges take place. The perceived availability of social support reduced some symptoms of stress associated with the migration process and made the youths more resilient, despite enduring significant adversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Results of Mentoring in the Psychosocial Well-Being of Young Immigrants and Refugees in Spain

2020

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This study examined the change processes associated with the Nightingale project, a community-based mentoring programme whose aim is to promote the social inclusion of minors of immigrant origin. A pre-test–post-test study was conducted on a group of 158 young immigrants between the ages of 8 and 15, in which the influence of the mentoring programme on the youths’ psychosocial well-being was measured. Non-parametric tests were used to calculate the results before and after mentoring, comparing the results over a six-month period and controlling for sex and age. The analyses reflected associations between mentoring and improvements in specific aspects of the emotional well-being of young immigrants and highlighted the potential of mentorships to cushion the stressful events they are subjected to in the process of adapting to a new social reality.

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“…More specifically, with unaccompanied migrant minors, other inquiries have stressed that mentoring encourages young migrants’ hope and feeling of belonging [ 60 ], as well as perceptions of the social support they have in the host culture [ 59 ]. This study further contributes to this field by shedding some light on the effects on unaccompanied youth once they turn 18, considering that our quantitative discoveries showed large effect sizes (‘d’ around 0.8) for the mentoring group on resilience (0.7), educational aspirations (0.86), and educational expectations (0.86), or medium effect sizes (‘d’ around 0.5) for self-esteem (0.54) and youth hope (0.45).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as far as we know, there is no research showing the effects of mentoring on the mental health of unaccompanied migrant youths. What we know is that mentoring programmes can widen their social networks [ 59 ] and improve a sense of belonging and hope in the receiving society among migrant children living with their families in their new context [ 60 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mentoring for Improving the Self-Esteem, Resilience, and Hope of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area

Alarcón

Bobowik

Prieto-Flores

2021

IJERPH

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In the last few years, the number of unaccompanied youths arriving in Europe has increased steadily. During their settlement in host countries, they are exposed to a great variety of vulnerabilities, which have an impact on their mental health. This research examines the effects of participation in a mentoring programme on the psychological and educational outcomes among unaccompanied migrant youths who live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. Data in this mixed-methods study were obtained from 44 surveys with mentored (treatment group) and non-mentored (control group) male youths who had recently turned 18, as well as through thirty semi-structured interviews with mentored youths, their adult mentors, and non-mentored youths. Our findings indicated that participation in the mentoring programme improved the mentored youths’ self-esteem, resilience, and hope, as well as their desired or expected educational outcomes in this new context. We conclude that well-targeted and problem-specific mentoring programmes have positive and marked effects on unaccompanied migrant youths’ mental health. The social and political implications of these outcomes are also discussed, providing information on how interventions can offer effective networks of support for the settlement and social inclusion of unaccompanied migrant youths.

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‘If we want, they help us in any way’: how ‘unaccompanied refugee minors’ experience mentoring relationships

Abstract: View related articles View Crossmark data 'If we want, they help us in any way': how 'unaccompanied refugee minors' experience mentoring relationships

Cited by 18 publications

References 44 publications

Unpacking Community-Based Youth Mentoring Relationships: An Integrative Review

Unpacking Community-Based Youth Mentoring Relationships: An Integrative Review

Results of Mentoring in the Psychosocial Well-Being of Young Immigrants and Refugees in Spain

Mentoring for Improving the Self-Esteem, Resilience, and Hope of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area

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