Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum in Sweden: Living Conditions from a Child-Centred Perspective

Lundberg, Anna; Dahlquist, Lisa

doi:10.1093/rsq/hds003

Cited by 28 publications

(38 citation statements)

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“…Existing research on asylum seekers, whether unaccompanied (e.g. John et al 2002;Lundberg & Dahlquist 2012) or accompanied by their families (Lennartsson 2009;Löwén 2006), mention school as important for establishing social relations and a potential source of meaning but do not go deeper into what such meaning would entail. Taking our cue from this observation, we address school as a locus of possibilities as perceived by 14 accompanied asylum-seeking children in Sweden.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Betwixt and Between”: <i>Hope and the meaning of school for asylum-seeking children in Sweden</i>

Svensson

Eastmond

2013

Nordic Journal of Migration Research

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This study explores the sense of possibility as perceived by asylum-seeking children in Sweden in relation to education. An ethnographic approach brought out children's own perspectives and motivations, and the hopes they pinned to attending school. It was found that the meaning of school related to children's need of structure, a sense of belonging and a learning environment. However, their hopefulness was conditioned by their uncertain status as asylum seekers, worrying about being deported. This legal and emotional vulnerability and the limited attention of schools to their predicament risked undermining the benefits of their right to education.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Betwixt and Between”: <i>Hope and the meaning of school for asylum-seeking children in Sweden</i>

Svensson

Eastmond

2013

Nordic Journal of Migration Research

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“…Several studies stress unaccompanied youths experiences of exclusion and the struggle to create deeper relations, such as friendship, with what is often named as 'swedes' (e.g. Backlund, Eriksson, von Greiff, Nyberg, & Åkerlund, 2012;Lundberg & Dahlquist, 2012;Söderqvist, 2017;Stretmo & Melander, 2013). The struggle to build and uphold friendship and social relations is not always dependent on the time the young people stayed in Sweden, it can also be experienced after several years in the country (Gustafsson, Fioretos, & Norström, 2012).…”

Section: Unaccompanied Youths and Homementioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of home – unaccompanied youths voices and experiences

Börjesson

Forkby

2020

European Journal of Social Work

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In Sweden, unaccompanied youths are placed within residential care units. However, to settle in a foreign country and feel emotional belonging is more complex than access to a physical building. The aim of this study is to critically discuss the concept of 'home' as experienced by the youths, narrated in nine focus group interviews. These interviews occurred in the aftermath of a turbulent migration time (2015), when over 35,000 unaccompanied youths arrived in Sweden. A transnational theoretical perspective stretches the meaning across national borders, when home links to people, processes and other geographical places. It is difficult to create an environment that mirrors the emotional attachment described in analysis. Earlier research has shown that residential care workers refer to the institutional setting as home, yet the results of this study show that the young people relate to the concept differently. Staff utilisation of the concept of home rather emphasises the lack of home-like aspects for the youths, creating a frustration in the current institutional conditions. Staff in residential care units must therefore be aware of the different interpretations and reactions that their actions and communications generate, in order to respond to various needs. ABSTRAKTEtt boende alternativ för ensamkommande unga i Sverige är hem för vård och boende (HVB). Att komma till ett nytt land och skapa förutsättning för känslomässig tillhörighet är mer komplext än att få tillgång till en fysisk byggnad. Syftet med den här studien är att kritiskt diskutera hembegreppet baserat på ungdomarnas egna upplevelser, delgett i nio olika fokus-grupps intervjuer. Intervjuerna utfördes i efterdyningarna av en turbulent tid då det 2015 anlände över 35,000 ensamkommande unga i Sverige. Ett transnationellt teoretiskt perspektiv breddar förståelsen och sträcker sig över nationella gränser där hem länkas samman till människor, processer och olika geografiska platser. Det är svårt att skapa en miljö som motsvarar den emotionella samhörighet som de unga beskriver i studien. Tidigare forskning har visat att personal på HVB relaterar till den institutionella miljön i termer av ett hem, resultatet av vår studie visar dock att de ungas förståelse av begreppet skiljer sig åt. Personalens sätt att relatera till HVB som hem understryker snarare avsaknaden av hemlika element från de ungas perspektiv och skapar således frustration. Personalen behöver vara medvetna om de olika tolkningarna och reaktionerna som deras kommunikation genererar, för att kunna bemöta olika behov.

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“…Others fall ill once their applications are rejected. Despite satisfaction with health care, their situation as asylum seeking children, and their unpredictable futures wer e worrying and commonly linked to symptoms such as stomach ache and difficulty sleeping (Lundberg & Dahlqust, 2012). Their accounts included concerns about being economically marginalized, split up as a family and uncertainty about the future (Ascher & Mellander, 2010: 242).…”

Section: The Swedish Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their accounts included concerns about being economically marginalized, split up as a family and uncertainty about the future (Ascher & Mellander, 2010: 242). Those whose asylum claims were being processed reported that a residence permit and access to supportive friends and adults in everyday life were prerequisite for health and that everyday conversations were important for general well-being (Lundberg & Dahlqust, 2012).…”

Section: The Swedish Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Moving on: Multiple Transitions of Unaccompanied Child Migrants Leaving Care in England and Sweden

Roberts

Bradby²,

Ingold³

et al. 2017

IJSSS

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This paper explores the priorities of young people who arrived in England or Sweden as unaccompanied minors and are leaving the care of the state to transition to adult life. Policy and practice for these young pe ople are themselves in transition in Europe, and we aim to contribute to the slender first person qualitative evidence base for those delivering services. Our methods comprised a scoping review of scholarly and grey literature, and group and individual interviews. Despite a commitment in both countries to listening to the voices of young people, we identified few studies representing the voices of unaccompanied care leavers. In both the literature and our interviews, health in a clinical sense was rarely among their priorities. Their accounts focused on the determinants of health, and in particular housing, education, food and employment. In Sweden, where services are universal rather than targeted, the Health and Social Care Board (Socialstyrelsen) notes the paradox of unaccompanied children being surrounded by adult supporters, none of whom takes overall responsibility for the young person and his/her everyday life. Those we spoke to describe the vital role played by foster carers, health and social care professionals and friends that they could rely on. The young people whose narratives appear in the research literature and those in our own sample are working hard to cope with multiple transitions and to manage health in its widest sense, whether by finding the right place to live or attending to their education or training.

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Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum in Sweden: Living Conditions from a Child-Centred Perspective

Cited by 28 publications

References 0 publications

“Betwixt and Between”: <i>Hope and the meaning of school for asylum-seeking children in Sweden</i>

“Betwixt and Between”: <i>Hope and the meaning of school for asylum-seeking children in Sweden</i>

The concept of home – unaccompanied youths voices and experiences

Moving on: Multiple Transitions of Unaccompanied Child Migrants Leaving Care in England and Sweden

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