På omslaget: Folkehelseinstituttet, og: Rådet for psykisk helse. Disputats, Universitetet i Oslo,... more På omslaget: Folkehelseinstituttet, og: Rådet for psykisk helse. Disputats, Universitetet i Oslo, 2003.
Unaccompanied refugee youth (URY), who as children fled their countries to seek asylum in a forei... more Unaccompanied refugee youth (URY), who as children fled their countries to seek asylum in a foreign country without the company of an adult legal caretaker are described as being in a vulnerable situation. Many of them struggle with mental reactions to traumatic events experienced pre-migration, and to the daily hassles they face after being granted asylum and residence. Despite continuous high levels of mental health problems URY demonstrate remarkable agency and social mobility in the years after being granted asylum in their destination countries. A sense of subjective well-being (SWB) may enable resilient outcomes in people exposed to past or ongoing adversities. To fill the gap in the research literature about positive psychological outcomes among URY, the overall aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal associations between SWB and two taxing acculturation hassles: perceived discrimination and ethnic identity crisis. Three annual waves of self-report questionnaire dat...
Background Although post-traumatic stress is prevalent among unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), ... more Background Although post-traumatic stress is prevalent among unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), there are few evidence-based psychological interventions for this group. Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) is a brief, manualised intervention for trauma-exposed youth, which has shown promising results in exploratory studies. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the use of TRT among URM by investigating key uncertainties relating to recruitment, randomisation, intervention delivery and data collection. Methods A 3-month long non-blinded internal randomised pilot trial with a parallel-group design assessed the feasibility of a planned nationwide multi-site RCT. URM with or without granted asylum were eligible if they were 14 to 20 years old, had arrived in Sweden within the last 5 years and had screened positive for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Quantitative data were collected pre- a...
Additional file of Evaluation of the Teaching Recovery Techniques community-based intervention fo... more Additional file of Evaluation of the Teaching Recovery Techniques community-based intervention for unaccompanied refugee youth experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms (Swedish UnaccomPanied yOuth Refugee Trial; SUPpORT): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Strohmeier, Schmitt-Rodermund, Immigrant Youth in European Countries. Sam, Vedder, Liebkind, Neto... more Strohmeier, Schmitt-Rodermund, Immigrant Youth in European Countries. Sam, Vedder, Liebkind, Neto, Virta, Immigration, Acculturation and the Paradox of Adaptation in Europe. Sabatier, Berry, The Role of Family Acculturation, Parental Style and Perceived Discrimination in the Adaptation of Second Generation Immigrant Youth in France and Canada. Schmitt-Rodermund, Silbereisen, Well-adapted Adolescent Ethnic German Immigrants in Spite of Adversity - The Protective Effects of Human, Social, and Financial Capital. Oppedal, Psychosocial Profiles as Mediators of Variation in Internalizing Problems Among Young Immigrants With Origins in Countries of War and Internal Conflicts. Motti-Stefanidi, Pavlopoulos, Obradovic, Dalla, Takis, Papathanassiou, Masten, Immigration as a Risk Factor for Adolescent Adaptation in Greek Urban Schools. Strohmeier, Spiel, Gradinger, Social Relationships in Multicultural Schools: Bullying and Victimization.
The overall aim of the present study was to expand our knowledge about depression among unaccompa... more The overall aim of the present study was to expand our knowledge about depression among unaccompanied refugee minors in the years after they were granted protection in Norway. Predictors were contextual variables in terms of the asylum-process, acculturation variables in terms of bicultural identity, and demographic information such as residence-time. Method: Register data and cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data were collected from 895 unaccompanied young refugees (UYRs). They originated in 31 different countries, the majority was from Afghanistan, 82.4% were boys, and average residence-time was 2.5 years. Results: The length of the asylum-process was not associated with depression while heritage identity and residence-time were. Moderating analyses showed that an overtime steady decrease in depression was present for UYRs with a strong heritage identity. The prevalence of depression symptoms dropped from an initial 40%-14% among youth with 10 years of residence. Majority identity had neither direct nor indirect effects on depression. Conclusion: To optimize the psychosocial support offered to unaccompanied refugee minors during transition to stable resettlement, we need more substantial information about the aspects of the asylum-seeking process that increase the risk for mental health problems among them. In the years following resettlement, a strong heritage, but not majority identity was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. The findings are discussed in relation to structural barriers to bicultural identity formation and integration embedded in the way psychosocial support and education for these youths are structured, and implication for future research.
Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), are at high risk for mental health problems, yet there is a ... more Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), are at high risk for mental health problems, yet there is a lack of knowledge about social anxiety among these youths. The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of social anxiety among URMs resettled in Norway, and the combined effects of pre-migration traumatic events, post-migration acculturation related factors (perceived discrimination and culture competence in relation both to the heritage and majority cultures) and demographic background variables, over and above the effect of concurrent depressive symptoms. Methods: Cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data were collected from 557 URMs from 31 different countries, mainly from Afghanistan (49,6%), Somalia (11,1%), and Iraq (7,0%). Results: The findings from structural equation model (SEM) showed that the effect of pre-migration traumatic events on social anxiety was non-significant (β = 0.001, p = .09), while perceived discrimination and majority culture competence had unique effects on social anxiety (β = 0.39, p < .001 and β = −0.12, p = .008, respectively) over and above depressive symptoms (β = 0.30, p < .001). Conclusions: The findings show that factors of the current socio-cultural developmental context rather than premigration war-related traumatic events the youths experienced before migration accounts for variation in social anxiety. Potential practical implications of the findings for social workers, educational staff and clinicians are discussed. 1.1. Social anxiety among refugee children While there is scarce information about social anxiety among refugee youths, findings from general populations have demonstrated comorbidity with depression [16], other anxiety disorders [33], and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [39]. Social anxiety is related to impairment in peer relationships [37].
Objective: This study explores the differences in the association between three different types o... more Objective: This study explores the differences in the association between three different types of aggression (reactive aggression, power-related proactive aggression and affiliation- related proactive aggression) and emotional and conduct problems between early adolescents with immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds in Norway. Methods: The sample comprised 1759 early adolescents in fifth to eighth grade (10- to 15- year-olds). The proportion of early adolescent immigrants with two foreign-born parents was 862, and 897 participants were adolescents with two Norwegian-born parents. The gender distribution was similar in the immigrant and non-immigrant samples, 48.2% boys and 49.5% girls. The mean age was 11.6 years (SD 1.25) for immigrant boys, 11.7 (SD 1.29) for non-immigrant boys, 11.6 (SD = 1.25) for immigrant girls, and 11.8 (SD = 1.27) for nonimmigrant girls. Data were collected via self-report assessments. Results: A multigroup structural equation model revealed that the effec...
Background Over the last decades, due to high rates of immigration, many high-income countries ha... more Background Over the last decades, due to high rates of immigration, many high-income countries have witnessed demographic shifts towards more cultural diversity in the population. Socio-economic deprivation and traumatic experiences pre-migration contribute to a high risk for mental health problems among immigrant background youth. Moreover, when adapting to the multi-cultural contexts of the resettlement countries they face several acculturation demands, which may also affect their mental health in adaptive or hazardous ways. One of these acculturation tasks involves developing the cultural competence necessary to thrive and participate socially within the heritage and the majority cultural domains. From a public mental health perspective, it is important to have thorough knowledge about acculturation-related risk and protective factors. However, this responsibility has been challenged by a lack of acculturation measures that are theoretically linked to mental health, and target th...
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2017
This study examined educational aspirations and vocational identity formation among unaccompanied... more This study examined educational aspirations and vocational identity formation among unaccompanied refugees in Norway. In Phase 1 we employed questionnaire data from 918 unaccompanied refugees to investigate the effects of demographic information, pre-migration trauma, mental health and acculturation-related factors on their educational aspirations. In Phase 2, data from Identity Status Interviews (ISI) with 29 participants was analyzed to obtain information about vocational identity status distribution and to examine core themes and contextual factors underlying their vocational choices. The findings from Phase 1 showed that none of the theoretically and empirically based included variables had a significant effect on their aspirations. Moreover, the overall regression model was non-significant. We discussed these findings in relation to the strong motivation among unaccompanied minors to create better lives for themselves than they could have in the countries they fled from, irrespective of their traumatic experiences and mental health problems. In Phase 2 the most important themes emerging from the ISIs revolved around age, time, and economics. The remedial education to bridge the pre-flight gap in formal education meant that the unaccompanied refugee youth entered upper secondary school at substantially older ages than their classmates. Their older ages then led them to prioritize economic considerations in making vocational choices, since the support from the Child Welfare Services is discontinued when they reach the age of majority. Consequently, most of them chose short vocational paths toward earning a living, rather than complex roads that led to the realization of their own long-term aspirations. This may have limited the social mobility of unaccompanied refugees. VOCATIONAL IDENTITY AMONG UNACCOMPANIED MINORS 3 Vocational Identity Development among Unaccompanied Refugee Minors The steady increase in minor refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in Europe, with an historic peak in 2015, is taking place at the same time as these countries are struggling with economic problems and an alarmingly high proportion of, particularly youth, unemployment. Young people are highly affected during periods of economic crisis. Not only are they the first targets for job cuts, but in addition, their transition from school to the job market becomes almost impossible, with associated sentiments of hopelessness for the future and high school drop-out rates (Choudhry, Marelli, & Signorelli, 2012). There is a widespread concern that the so-called Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) presents a major risk for social exclusion and marginalization, with the prospect of social revolt seen in France in 2005 (Christafis, 2015), or even radicalization (European Commission, 2015). Youth with migrant backgrounds, health problems, and/or lower educational attainments are more likely to become NEETs than other youths from host cultural contexts. Thus, social inclusion and integration of young people with a migrant background, including newlyarrived migrants and refugees, is a key aim of the EU. Education is the main vehicle to reach this goal (European Commission, 2015). However, research suggests that there is a need to understand the heterogeneity and varied situations and difficulties that these youth face (Yates & Payne, 2006). As such, unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers, i.e. children who migrate without the company of an adult caretaker to apply for asylum in a foreign country, constitute a group of youth with a particularly challenging situation. They are fleeing war, violence, and poverty in their home countries with the associated absence of opportunities for a decent life (Hopkins & Hill, 2008). They are the most vulnerable of all immigrant groups regarding prevalence of mental health problems, and yet they are ambitious with a strong will to adapt and succeed in the VOCATIONAL IDENTITY AMONG UNACCOMPANIED MINORS 4 countries that grant them asylum (Bean, Derluyn, Eurelings-Bontekoe, Broekaert, & Spinhoven, 2007; Kohli, 2007; Oppedal & Idsoe, 2015). Their complex individual histories have often deprived them of developmentally supportive experiences within the safe haven of the family, the learning environment of the school, or with continuous peer relations, thereby impeding their social, emotional, and cognitive development (Baltes, 1987). Importantly, the frequent breakdown of educational institutions in the countries of origin, combined with often long travels to reach the countries of asylum, contribute to a serious lack of formal education among unaccompanied minors. Their re-entry into the educational system after resettlement therefore typically involves catching up with the curriculum of lower grade levels before they enter ordinary education, which for a majority of them implies secondary schooling. At this transition, they face a series of choices with important implications for their futures, such as entering a vocational job-qualifying track, or a theoretical track necessary for later admission into colleges and universities. The majority of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Europe are between 15 and 18 years old, where forming an identity within sexual, ideological, and vocational domains is one of the major developmental tasks of adolescence (Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2010; Marcia, 1980). Many studies have focused on identity development during adolescence
Background In 2015, 162 877 persons sought asylum in Sweden, 35 369 of whom were unaccompanied re... more Background In 2015, 162 877 persons sought asylum in Sweden, 35 369 of whom were unaccompanied refugee minors (URM). Refugee children, especially URM, have often experienced traumas and are at significant risk of developing mental health problems, such as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, which can continue years after resettlement. The Swedish UnaccomPanied yOuth Refugee Trial (SUPpORT) aims to evaluate a community-based intervention, called ‘Teaching Recovery Techniques’ (TRT), for refugee youth experiencing PTSD symptoms. Methods/Design A randomised controlled trial will be conducted in which participants will be randomly allocated to one of two possible arms: the intervention arm (n = 109) will be offered the TRT programme, and the waitlist-control arm (n = 109) will receive services as usual, followed by the TRT programme around 20 weeks later. Outcome data will be collected at three points: pre-intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2; ...
ABSTRACT The overall aim of the study was to document the nature and depth of the traumatic exper... more ABSTRACT The overall aim of the study was to document the nature and depth of the traumatic experiences of Syrian children living in a refugee camp in Turkey during the early stages of the civil war and examine their impact on depressive symptoms. Self-report questionnaire data were collected from 285 participants, who were 57.9% females and on average 12.5 years old (SD = 1.28). Demographic information was gathered from their parents. The findings show that girls 13 years or older reported more depression than boys, while there was no significant gender difference among younger children. Even if exposure to several individual war traumas did not affect the level of depression, a cumulative risk index of the total numbers of traumatic events correlated significantly with depression. However, children with more traumatic experiences perceived higher levels of available social support, more specifically emotional support, which contributed to resilient outcomes in terms of reduced depression levels. The long-term sequela of war trauma on the individual’s disposition to cope with stress, and through gradual, cascading effects on material deprivation, family interaction and ongoing daily hassles, was highlighted with suggestions for resilience and treatment-focused interventions.
The study was conducted to understand the development of children's understanding of war and peac... more The study was conducted to understand the development of children's understanding of war and peace and how they differ conditions of being exposed to war. Analysis of drawings of war and peace by children was utilized to access children's conceptions. Syrian (n = 357) children who had been exposed to war and Turkish children (n = 285) who had not were included in the study. Hiloglinear comparisons of the frequencies of coded categories in the drawings of the two groups of children were undertaken. It was observed that war exposure had an effect on understandings of both war and peace. It was observed that war exposure was more influential on children's conceptions than their developmental level. The implications of these findings in terms of resiliency were discussed.
ABSTRACTThe present study addressed important gaps in the research literature on bilingual develo... more ABSTRACTThe present study addressed important gaps in the research literature on bilingual development by examining the effects of both mother's and father's education level and age at migration on children's bilingual vocabulary in two different age groups. The sample included 81 preschoolers and 92 preadolescents with two Turkish immigrant parents living in Norway. The children were born in Norway, or migrated to Norway before/at the age of 3. The children completed Norwegian and Turkish vocabulary tests during home visits while mothers provided information regarding both parents’ education and age at migration in structured interviews. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that father's education significantly predicted all children's majority (Norwegian) vocabulary scores while mother's education significantly predicted majority vocabulary scores in the preschoolers. Father's education significantly predicted minority (Turkish) vocabula...
The aim of the present longitudinal study is to understand the longitudinal relation between depr... more The aim of the present longitudinal study is to understand the longitudinal relation between depressive symptoms and daily hassles (i.e., general and acculturation hassles) in a high-risk population of unaccompanied refugees. We investigated the validity of three stress-mental health models: the stress exposure model, the stress generation model, and the reciprocal model. Data were collected from 918 unaccompanied refugees in Norway in three waves. Of the initial sample, the majority (82.1%) were male (M age = 19.01 years, SD = 2.54 years). The data were analyzed with autoregressive cross-lagged modeling and latent growth curve modeling. The results supported the stress exposure model for the relation between depressive symptoms and acculturation hassles, indicating that acculturation hassles predicted the subsequent levels of depressive symptoms rather than vice versa. On the other hand, the reciprocal model was supported for the relation between depressive symptoms and general hassles indicating a bidirectional, mutual relation. Unconditional latent growth models further showed that depression level remained unchanged over time, while levels of acculturation and general hassles decreased. The implications for clinical practice and immigration policy are discussed.
Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2014
Background: Although strong parental achievement values have been associated with positive outcom... more Background: Although strong parental achievement values have been associated with positive outcomes among children (e.g., academic success), they have also been connected to emotional problems. The latter effect may be the result of pressure related to such things as parental comparison of filial achievement, which appears to be more predominant among immigrant parents as compared with non-immigrant parents. Objectives: Our goals were to assess the following: 1) whether higher levels of parental achievement values and comparison are found among immigrant preadolescents; and (2) whether comparison (i.e., comparing a child’s achievements with those of siblings and peers) can account for the link between strong parental achievement values and emotional problems among the children of immigrants. Methods: The sample included 902 preadolescents between the ages of 10 and 12 years from two Norwegian cities: Oslo (79%) and Bergen (21%). Forty-seven percent of the sample had immigrant parent...
Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2014
Background: The question of whether immigrants have more emotional problems than their non-immigr... more Background: The question of whether immigrants have more emotional problems than their non-immigrant peers has yielded mixed results. In Norway, there has been a tendency toward immigrant youth reporting higher rates of emotional problems. In addition to studying levels of emotional problems across those with immigrant backgrounds, there is a need to investigate whether the phenomenology of these problems is comparable across ethnic groups. Objectives: We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of preadolescents with distinct types of emotional problems in a multiethnic sample in Norway and to investigate associations with immigrant status after controlling for other demographic and risk factors related to emotional problems. Methods: Preadolescents between the ages of 10 and 12 years (n = 1042) completed a questionnaire that assessed emotional problems and sociodemographic factors such as gender, grade level, city, economic hardship, school hassles, and parental achi...
Abstract: This article examines the temporalizing effects of Tidlig Innsats—Early Years (TIEY), a... more Abstract: This article examines the temporalizing effects of Tidlig Innsats—Early Years (TIEY), a literacy instruction program building on the school effectiveness pedagogic model. Ethnographic descriptions from several Norwegian first-grade classrooms document how the program’s rigid and meticulous pedagogic standards shaped the social timing of TIEY lessons. In sum, the interaction dynamics in the classrooms were forced into patterns that we call ‘learning effectiveness temporalities’. Several effects were observed beyond those officially intended, most notably an increased emphasis on producing orderly and disciplined behavioral norms. As TIEY implementation was politically driven, the learning effectiveness temporalities that it generated have been analyzed as state effects. Their intensity was found to fluctuate with seasonal activity cycles and administrative surveillance patterns
På omslaget: Folkehelseinstituttet, og: Rådet for psykisk helse. Disputats, Universitetet i Oslo,... more På omslaget: Folkehelseinstituttet, og: Rådet for psykisk helse. Disputats, Universitetet i Oslo, 2003.
Unaccompanied refugee youth (URY), who as children fled their countries to seek asylum in a forei... more Unaccompanied refugee youth (URY), who as children fled their countries to seek asylum in a foreign country without the company of an adult legal caretaker are described as being in a vulnerable situation. Many of them struggle with mental reactions to traumatic events experienced pre-migration, and to the daily hassles they face after being granted asylum and residence. Despite continuous high levels of mental health problems URY demonstrate remarkable agency and social mobility in the years after being granted asylum in their destination countries. A sense of subjective well-being (SWB) may enable resilient outcomes in people exposed to past or ongoing adversities. To fill the gap in the research literature about positive psychological outcomes among URY, the overall aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal associations between SWB and two taxing acculturation hassles: perceived discrimination and ethnic identity crisis. Three annual waves of self-report questionnaire dat...
Background Although post-traumatic stress is prevalent among unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), ... more Background Although post-traumatic stress is prevalent among unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), there are few evidence-based psychological interventions for this group. Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) is a brief, manualised intervention for trauma-exposed youth, which has shown promising results in exploratory studies. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the use of TRT among URM by investigating key uncertainties relating to recruitment, randomisation, intervention delivery and data collection. Methods A 3-month long non-blinded internal randomised pilot trial with a parallel-group design assessed the feasibility of a planned nationwide multi-site RCT. URM with or without granted asylum were eligible if they were 14 to 20 years old, had arrived in Sweden within the last 5 years and had screened positive for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Quantitative data were collected pre- a...
Additional file of Evaluation of the Teaching Recovery Techniques community-based intervention fo... more Additional file of Evaluation of the Teaching Recovery Techniques community-based intervention for unaccompanied refugee youth experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms (Swedish UnaccomPanied yOuth Refugee Trial; SUPpORT): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Strohmeier, Schmitt-Rodermund, Immigrant Youth in European Countries. Sam, Vedder, Liebkind, Neto... more Strohmeier, Schmitt-Rodermund, Immigrant Youth in European Countries. Sam, Vedder, Liebkind, Neto, Virta, Immigration, Acculturation and the Paradox of Adaptation in Europe. Sabatier, Berry, The Role of Family Acculturation, Parental Style and Perceived Discrimination in the Adaptation of Second Generation Immigrant Youth in France and Canada. Schmitt-Rodermund, Silbereisen, Well-adapted Adolescent Ethnic German Immigrants in Spite of Adversity - The Protective Effects of Human, Social, and Financial Capital. Oppedal, Psychosocial Profiles as Mediators of Variation in Internalizing Problems Among Young Immigrants With Origins in Countries of War and Internal Conflicts. Motti-Stefanidi, Pavlopoulos, Obradovic, Dalla, Takis, Papathanassiou, Masten, Immigration as a Risk Factor for Adolescent Adaptation in Greek Urban Schools. Strohmeier, Spiel, Gradinger, Social Relationships in Multicultural Schools: Bullying and Victimization.
The overall aim of the present study was to expand our knowledge about depression among unaccompa... more The overall aim of the present study was to expand our knowledge about depression among unaccompanied refugee minors in the years after they were granted protection in Norway. Predictors were contextual variables in terms of the asylum-process, acculturation variables in terms of bicultural identity, and demographic information such as residence-time. Method: Register data and cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data were collected from 895 unaccompanied young refugees (UYRs). They originated in 31 different countries, the majority was from Afghanistan, 82.4% were boys, and average residence-time was 2.5 years. Results: The length of the asylum-process was not associated with depression while heritage identity and residence-time were. Moderating analyses showed that an overtime steady decrease in depression was present for UYRs with a strong heritage identity. The prevalence of depression symptoms dropped from an initial 40%-14% among youth with 10 years of residence. Majority identity had neither direct nor indirect effects on depression. Conclusion: To optimize the psychosocial support offered to unaccompanied refugee minors during transition to stable resettlement, we need more substantial information about the aspects of the asylum-seeking process that increase the risk for mental health problems among them. In the years following resettlement, a strong heritage, but not majority identity was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. The findings are discussed in relation to structural barriers to bicultural identity formation and integration embedded in the way psychosocial support and education for these youths are structured, and implication for future research.
Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), are at high risk for mental health problems, yet there is a ... more Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), are at high risk for mental health problems, yet there is a lack of knowledge about social anxiety among these youths. The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of social anxiety among URMs resettled in Norway, and the combined effects of pre-migration traumatic events, post-migration acculturation related factors (perceived discrimination and culture competence in relation both to the heritage and majority cultures) and demographic background variables, over and above the effect of concurrent depressive symptoms. Methods: Cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data were collected from 557 URMs from 31 different countries, mainly from Afghanistan (49,6%), Somalia (11,1%), and Iraq (7,0%). Results: The findings from structural equation model (SEM) showed that the effect of pre-migration traumatic events on social anxiety was non-significant (β = 0.001, p = .09), while perceived discrimination and majority culture competence had unique effects on social anxiety (β = 0.39, p < .001 and β = −0.12, p = .008, respectively) over and above depressive symptoms (β = 0.30, p < .001). Conclusions: The findings show that factors of the current socio-cultural developmental context rather than premigration war-related traumatic events the youths experienced before migration accounts for variation in social anxiety. Potential practical implications of the findings for social workers, educational staff and clinicians are discussed. 1.1. Social anxiety among refugee children While there is scarce information about social anxiety among refugee youths, findings from general populations have demonstrated comorbidity with depression [16], other anxiety disorders [33], and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [39]. Social anxiety is related to impairment in peer relationships [37].
Objective: This study explores the differences in the association between three different types o... more Objective: This study explores the differences in the association between three different types of aggression (reactive aggression, power-related proactive aggression and affiliation- related proactive aggression) and emotional and conduct problems between early adolescents with immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds in Norway. Methods: The sample comprised 1759 early adolescents in fifth to eighth grade (10- to 15- year-olds). The proportion of early adolescent immigrants with two foreign-born parents was 862, and 897 participants were adolescents with two Norwegian-born parents. The gender distribution was similar in the immigrant and non-immigrant samples, 48.2% boys and 49.5% girls. The mean age was 11.6 years (SD 1.25) for immigrant boys, 11.7 (SD 1.29) for non-immigrant boys, 11.6 (SD = 1.25) for immigrant girls, and 11.8 (SD = 1.27) for nonimmigrant girls. Data were collected via self-report assessments. Results: A multigroup structural equation model revealed that the effec...
Background Over the last decades, due to high rates of immigration, many high-income countries ha... more Background Over the last decades, due to high rates of immigration, many high-income countries have witnessed demographic shifts towards more cultural diversity in the population. Socio-economic deprivation and traumatic experiences pre-migration contribute to a high risk for mental health problems among immigrant background youth. Moreover, when adapting to the multi-cultural contexts of the resettlement countries they face several acculturation demands, which may also affect their mental health in adaptive or hazardous ways. One of these acculturation tasks involves developing the cultural competence necessary to thrive and participate socially within the heritage and the majority cultural domains. From a public mental health perspective, it is important to have thorough knowledge about acculturation-related risk and protective factors. However, this responsibility has been challenged by a lack of acculturation measures that are theoretically linked to mental health, and target th...
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2017
This study examined educational aspirations and vocational identity formation among unaccompanied... more This study examined educational aspirations and vocational identity formation among unaccompanied refugees in Norway. In Phase 1 we employed questionnaire data from 918 unaccompanied refugees to investigate the effects of demographic information, pre-migration trauma, mental health and acculturation-related factors on their educational aspirations. In Phase 2, data from Identity Status Interviews (ISI) with 29 participants was analyzed to obtain information about vocational identity status distribution and to examine core themes and contextual factors underlying their vocational choices. The findings from Phase 1 showed that none of the theoretically and empirically based included variables had a significant effect on their aspirations. Moreover, the overall regression model was non-significant. We discussed these findings in relation to the strong motivation among unaccompanied minors to create better lives for themselves than they could have in the countries they fled from, irrespective of their traumatic experiences and mental health problems. In Phase 2 the most important themes emerging from the ISIs revolved around age, time, and economics. The remedial education to bridge the pre-flight gap in formal education meant that the unaccompanied refugee youth entered upper secondary school at substantially older ages than their classmates. Their older ages then led them to prioritize economic considerations in making vocational choices, since the support from the Child Welfare Services is discontinued when they reach the age of majority. Consequently, most of them chose short vocational paths toward earning a living, rather than complex roads that led to the realization of their own long-term aspirations. This may have limited the social mobility of unaccompanied refugees. VOCATIONAL IDENTITY AMONG UNACCOMPANIED MINORS 3 Vocational Identity Development among Unaccompanied Refugee Minors The steady increase in minor refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in Europe, with an historic peak in 2015, is taking place at the same time as these countries are struggling with economic problems and an alarmingly high proportion of, particularly youth, unemployment. Young people are highly affected during periods of economic crisis. Not only are they the first targets for job cuts, but in addition, their transition from school to the job market becomes almost impossible, with associated sentiments of hopelessness for the future and high school drop-out rates (Choudhry, Marelli, & Signorelli, 2012). There is a widespread concern that the so-called Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) presents a major risk for social exclusion and marginalization, with the prospect of social revolt seen in France in 2005 (Christafis, 2015), or even radicalization (European Commission, 2015). Youth with migrant backgrounds, health problems, and/or lower educational attainments are more likely to become NEETs than other youths from host cultural contexts. Thus, social inclusion and integration of young people with a migrant background, including newlyarrived migrants and refugees, is a key aim of the EU. Education is the main vehicle to reach this goal (European Commission, 2015). However, research suggests that there is a need to understand the heterogeneity and varied situations and difficulties that these youth face (Yates & Payne, 2006). As such, unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers, i.e. children who migrate without the company of an adult caretaker to apply for asylum in a foreign country, constitute a group of youth with a particularly challenging situation. They are fleeing war, violence, and poverty in their home countries with the associated absence of opportunities for a decent life (Hopkins & Hill, 2008). They are the most vulnerable of all immigrant groups regarding prevalence of mental health problems, and yet they are ambitious with a strong will to adapt and succeed in the VOCATIONAL IDENTITY AMONG UNACCOMPANIED MINORS 4 countries that grant them asylum (Bean, Derluyn, Eurelings-Bontekoe, Broekaert, & Spinhoven, 2007; Kohli, 2007; Oppedal & Idsoe, 2015). Their complex individual histories have often deprived them of developmentally supportive experiences within the safe haven of the family, the learning environment of the school, or with continuous peer relations, thereby impeding their social, emotional, and cognitive development (Baltes, 1987). Importantly, the frequent breakdown of educational institutions in the countries of origin, combined with often long travels to reach the countries of asylum, contribute to a serious lack of formal education among unaccompanied minors. Their re-entry into the educational system after resettlement therefore typically involves catching up with the curriculum of lower grade levels before they enter ordinary education, which for a majority of them implies secondary schooling. At this transition, they face a series of choices with important implications for their futures, such as entering a vocational job-qualifying track, or a theoretical track necessary for later admission into colleges and universities. The majority of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Europe are between 15 and 18 years old, where forming an identity within sexual, ideological, and vocational domains is one of the major developmental tasks of adolescence (Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2010; Marcia, 1980). Many studies have focused on identity development during adolescence
Background In 2015, 162 877 persons sought asylum in Sweden, 35 369 of whom were unaccompanied re... more Background In 2015, 162 877 persons sought asylum in Sweden, 35 369 of whom were unaccompanied refugee minors (URM). Refugee children, especially URM, have often experienced traumas and are at significant risk of developing mental health problems, such as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, which can continue years after resettlement. The Swedish UnaccomPanied yOuth Refugee Trial (SUPpORT) aims to evaluate a community-based intervention, called ‘Teaching Recovery Techniques’ (TRT), for refugee youth experiencing PTSD symptoms. Methods/Design A randomised controlled trial will be conducted in which participants will be randomly allocated to one of two possible arms: the intervention arm (n = 109) will be offered the TRT programme, and the waitlist-control arm (n = 109) will receive services as usual, followed by the TRT programme around 20 weeks later. Outcome data will be collected at three points: pre-intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2; ...
ABSTRACT The overall aim of the study was to document the nature and depth of the traumatic exper... more ABSTRACT The overall aim of the study was to document the nature and depth of the traumatic experiences of Syrian children living in a refugee camp in Turkey during the early stages of the civil war and examine their impact on depressive symptoms. Self-report questionnaire data were collected from 285 participants, who were 57.9% females and on average 12.5 years old (SD = 1.28). Demographic information was gathered from their parents. The findings show that girls 13 years or older reported more depression than boys, while there was no significant gender difference among younger children. Even if exposure to several individual war traumas did not affect the level of depression, a cumulative risk index of the total numbers of traumatic events correlated significantly with depression. However, children with more traumatic experiences perceived higher levels of available social support, more specifically emotional support, which contributed to resilient outcomes in terms of reduced depression levels. The long-term sequela of war trauma on the individual’s disposition to cope with stress, and through gradual, cascading effects on material deprivation, family interaction and ongoing daily hassles, was highlighted with suggestions for resilience and treatment-focused interventions.
The study was conducted to understand the development of children's understanding of war and peac... more The study was conducted to understand the development of children's understanding of war and peace and how they differ conditions of being exposed to war. Analysis of drawings of war and peace by children was utilized to access children's conceptions. Syrian (n = 357) children who had been exposed to war and Turkish children (n = 285) who had not were included in the study. Hiloglinear comparisons of the frequencies of coded categories in the drawings of the two groups of children were undertaken. It was observed that war exposure had an effect on understandings of both war and peace. It was observed that war exposure was more influential on children's conceptions than their developmental level. The implications of these findings in terms of resiliency were discussed.
ABSTRACTThe present study addressed important gaps in the research literature on bilingual develo... more ABSTRACTThe present study addressed important gaps in the research literature on bilingual development by examining the effects of both mother's and father's education level and age at migration on children's bilingual vocabulary in two different age groups. The sample included 81 preschoolers and 92 preadolescents with two Turkish immigrant parents living in Norway. The children were born in Norway, or migrated to Norway before/at the age of 3. The children completed Norwegian and Turkish vocabulary tests during home visits while mothers provided information regarding both parents’ education and age at migration in structured interviews. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that father's education significantly predicted all children's majority (Norwegian) vocabulary scores while mother's education significantly predicted majority vocabulary scores in the preschoolers. Father's education significantly predicted minority (Turkish) vocabula...
The aim of the present longitudinal study is to understand the longitudinal relation between depr... more The aim of the present longitudinal study is to understand the longitudinal relation between depressive symptoms and daily hassles (i.e., general and acculturation hassles) in a high-risk population of unaccompanied refugees. We investigated the validity of three stress-mental health models: the stress exposure model, the stress generation model, and the reciprocal model. Data were collected from 918 unaccompanied refugees in Norway in three waves. Of the initial sample, the majority (82.1%) were male (M age = 19.01 years, SD = 2.54 years). The data were analyzed with autoregressive cross-lagged modeling and latent growth curve modeling. The results supported the stress exposure model for the relation between depressive symptoms and acculturation hassles, indicating that acculturation hassles predicted the subsequent levels of depressive symptoms rather than vice versa. On the other hand, the reciprocal model was supported for the relation between depressive symptoms and general hassles indicating a bidirectional, mutual relation. Unconditional latent growth models further showed that depression level remained unchanged over time, while levels of acculturation and general hassles decreased. The implications for clinical practice and immigration policy are discussed.
Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2014
Background: Although strong parental achievement values have been associated with positive outcom... more Background: Although strong parental achievement values have been associated with positive outcomes among children (e.g., academic success), they have also been connected to emotional problems. The latter effect may be the result of pressure related to such things as parental comparison of filial achievement, which appears to be more predominant among immigrant parents as compared with non-immigrant parents. Objectives: Our goals were to assess the following: 1) whether higher levels of parental achievement values and comparison are found among immigrant preadolescents; and (2) whether comparison (i.e., comparing a child’s achievements with those of siblings and peers) can account for the link between strong parental achievement values and emotional problems among the children of immigrants. Methods: The sample included 902 preadolescents between the ages of 10 and 12 years from two Norwegian cities: Oslo (79%) and Bergen (21%). Forty-seven percent of the sample had immigrant parent...
Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2014
Background: The question of whether immigrants have more emotional problems than their non-immigr... more Background: The question of whether immigrants have more emotional problems than their non-immigrant peers has yielded mixed results. In Norway, there has been a tendency toward immigrant youth reporting higher rates of emotional problems. In addition to studying levels of emotional problems across those with immigrant backgrounds, there is a need to investigate whether the phenomenology of these problems is comparable across ethnic groups. Objectives: We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of preadolescents with distinct types of emotional problems in a multiethnic sample in Norway and to investigate associations with immigrant status after controlling for other demographic and risk factors related to emotional problems. Methods: Preadolescents between the ages of 10 and 12 years (n = 1042) completed a questionnaire that assessed emotional problems and sociodemographic factors such as gender, grade level, city, economic hardship, school hassles, and parental achi...
Abstract: This article examines the temporalizing effects of Tidlig Innsats—Early Years (TIEY), a... more Abstract: This article examines the temporalizing effects of Tidlig Innsats—Early Years (TIEY), a literacy instruction program building on the school effectiveness pedagogic model. Ethnographic descriptions from several Norwegian first-grade classrooms document how the program’s rigid and meticulous pedagogic standards shaped the social timing of TIEY lessons. In sum, the interaction dynamics in the classrooms were forced into patterns that we call ‘learning effectiveness temporalities’. Several effects were observed beyond those officially intended, most notably an increased emphasis on producing orderly and disciplined behavioral norms. As TIEY implementation was politically driven, the learning effectiveness temporalities that it generated have been analyzed as state effects. Their intensity was found to fluctuate with seasonal activity cycles and administrative surveillance patterns
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Papers by Brit Oppedal