Afghan unaccompanied refugee minors’ understandings of integration. An interpretative phenomenological analysis

ABSTRACT

There is a lack of knowledge concerning how unaccompanied refugee minors (UMs) perceive integration. This study concerns how Afghan UMs in Sweden understand integration. Seven young men, age 18–23, who came to Sweden as UMs, participated in semi-structured interviews, analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results showed that integration was understood as a process in which relationships, connectedness, and concrete support are fundamental. Education, employment, and leisure activities were important for integration. Integration also improved by contributing to the new country, for example, through paying taxes or voluntary work. We discuss how integration could be supported, for example, through making UMs co-creators of interventions and through acknowledging the importance of meaningful activities, relationships, and concrete support.

KEYWORDS:

• Afghanistan
• connectedness
• integration
• relationships
• Sweden
• unaccompanied refugee minors

Notes

¹ The Swedish social services might connect children and teenagers with various psychosocial needs with a family the child/teenager can establish relationships with and spend holidays and weekends with.

² Melissa Horn is a popular Swedish singer-songwriter who composes pop music that integrates elements of Swedish folk music.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Allmänna barnhuset [2018-245].

Notes on contributors

Mostafa Hosseini

Mostafa Hosseini is a licensed psychologist and research assistant at Gothenburg university. He has his roots in Afghanistan but grew up in Sweden. He has worked with unaccompanied refugee minors and for the organizations Save the Children and the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs. As a result of his personal journey and his professional experience, Mostafa's research interest concerns migration and belonging and he is interested in exploring the transformation within the migration process.

Elisabeth Punzi

Elisabeth Punzi is a licensed psychologist, PhD and associate professor at the Department of Social Work, Gothenburg university. Her research concerns how interventions might be adapted to the needs of each unique individual, and the prerequisites for providing client client-centered care. She is interested in Mad studies, connections between heritage, culture, identity, creative expressions and mental health, and writes about the relationship between Judaism and psychoanalysis. She teaches courses in mental health and qualitative research.