scholarly journals Using Attachment and Relational Perspectives to Understand Adaptation and Resilience among Immigrant and Refugee Youth

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda P. Juang ◽  
Jeffry Simpson ◽  
Richard M. Lee ◽  
Alexander Rothman ◽  
Peter F. Titzmann ◽  
...  

Migration is a critical issue for child development in the 21st century. We expand on García Coll et al.’s (1996) integrative model of minority child development by drawing from principles of attachment theory and interpersonal relationships research to offer new insights into how youth manage and respond to migration experiences. Immigrant and refugee youth should experience better outcomes to the extent that they: (1) maintain strong relationships with caregivers and peers that provide a sense of closeness, safety, and confidence during the process of adjusting to this life transition, and (2) find ways to establish a sense of connection and belonging to the new people, places, communities, and social networks within which they now live. Strong bonds to people and connection to places (both familiar and new) can counter the social stratification consequences to minority youth development that are well articulated in García Coll et al.’s integrative model. The need for new and better strategies that promote the positive development of immigrant and refugee youth within their families, schools, work places, and communities is crucial, not only for individuals and families, but for society as a whole.

Author(s):  
Frosso Motti-Stefanidi ◽  
Vassilis Pavlopoulos ◽  
Nancy Papathanasiou ◽  
Stefanos Mastrotheodoros

Resilient adaptation of immigrant and refugee youth in receiving societies is consequential for the wellbeing of the youth and the prosperity of the receiving societies. Yet there is significant diversity in their adaptation. The central question addressed in this article is: “Who among immigrant and refugee youth do well and why?” To address this question, we present an integrative model for conceptualizing immigrant-youth resilience, which integrates developmental, acculturation, and social psychological perspectives. This resilience framework frames research on the basis of two key questions: First, what challenges immigrant youths’ adaptation? Second, what resources protect their positive adaptation? Accordingly, we present scientific evidence regarding the influence of immigration-specific challenges and contextual and individual-level resources on their positive adaptation. Extant evidence suggests that focusing on strengths and resilience, instead of on weaknesses and psychological symptoms, among immigrant and refugee youth may have significant implications for policy and practice.


Young ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 332-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin Dimitri Selimos

This article draws on 30 interviews conducted with newcomer immigrant and refugee youth in Canada to explore how they make sense of their migration and the consequences these meanings have on how they imagine their future selves. The article is based on the understanding that a key task of any immigrant is to negotiate the experiences of continuity and change indicative of the migration experience—a task that takes on unique contours for young immigrants who are simultaneously negotiating their transitions to adulthood. Analysis of the migration narratives of newcomer youth demonstrates that in making sense of their migration, young migrants draw on the general situation of their country of descent, their experiences of emigration and poignant intergenerational links to construct meaning of their lives in their new country of residence. These meanings orient their social actions and animate their life projects in their new host society.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-133
Author(s):  
Andy Harris ◽  
Troy E. Beckert

Civic engagement is important for the positive development of adolescents. As such, many youth development programs promote civic engagement, particularly community service and volunteerism. This report is a program evaluation of a youth leadership seminar that seeks to empower adolescents to engage in community service. Using a pre to post mixed-methods design, we evaluated 114 adolescent participants on several psychosocial outcomes. Findings indicated that participants experienced positive change that was consistent with program goals. Quantitative findings demonstrated self-reported increases in areas of cognitive autonomy, moral ideal and social responsibility. Qualitative findings included the important themes of an increased desire to volunteer, confidence, and positive feelings towards self. Implications of these findings and future directions are also discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 87-108
Author(s):  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Fitim Uka

Consistent with the positive youth development perspective, the experience of internal and external assets is associated with positive development or thriving among young people. This proposal has been developed and tested mainly in the United States but it also appears to be considerably true for Roma youth living in post-communist countries. This chapter examines Roma youth (N = 354) experience of various developmental assets and how these assets are related to thriving. Study results indicated positive relations between the assets and thriving, in general. In addition, the experience of constructive use of time was quite low among Roma youth relative to internal assets, such as commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity, and other external assets such as support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations. While this low experience of constructive use of time could be a general trend among young people, it could also reflect the discrimination and social exclusion that Roma youth often face. Because Roma youth across Europe form a significant and growing proportion of the school-age population and consequently the future workforce, policies and programs that promote both internal and external assets necessary for thriving are essential because thriving has been associated with the development of self and society.


Author(s):  
Koon Teck Koh ◽  
Martin Camiré

Sport is a very popular activity that provides a context suitable for positive youth development (Danish, Forneris, & Wallace, 2005). Although the acquisition of motor skills and sport-specific abilities are indispensable constituents of sport involvement, other elements contributing to athletes' positive development such as life skills and values must be considered (Carron, Hausenblas, & Estabrooks, 2003; Forneris, Camiré, & Trudel, 2012; Landers & Petruzzelo, 1994). Several studies have examined the effectiveness of sport-based programmes designed for developing life skills and values, but a limited amount of research has specifically addressed how to promote this type of material among youth. There is a need for a review that explores the potential approaches for infusing the learning of life skills and values in sport participation, and improving the effectiveness of structured life skills and values-driven training programmes in order to achieve the desired developmental benefits of sport participation.


Author(s):  
Alfredo Pérez-Marco ◽  
Panmela Soares ◽  
Mari Carmen Davó-Blanes ◽  
Carmen Vives-Cases

Introduction: The Lights4Violence project was created to promote healthy relationships among adolescents using a school intervention in which participants developed video-capsules where they highlighted skills to resolve situations of dating violence. This study aims to assess the results of the Lights4Violence training program by identifying different types of violence and positive development assets that Spanish adolescents use in their video-capsule scripts. Methods: A thematic analysis of the Lights4Violence video capsules was carried out. Open coding was used to identify violence patterns. A deductive analysis was used to identify student assets using the “Positive Youth Development Model”. Findings: Adolescents describe different patterns of violence, such as psychological violence, sexist violence or verbal violence that is present on the scripts. However, they showed themselves capable of resolving these situations using language and personal empowerment skills as resources. Family, friends and community were identified in adolescents’ scenarios as the most frequent assets to address situations of conflict. Conclusion: Adolescents can promote healthy relationships using protective factors against violence. Interventions that use this approach can potentially be useful in preventing violence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah B. Lewis ◽  
Heather McLeod ◽  
Xuemei Li

The Open Studio is a publicly accessible art-making space grounded in ideals of collaborative community development, Adlerian theory, social justice, and feminist thoughts. Our project involved visual art-making and exploring high school immigrant students’ experiences of inclusion and belonging. The purpose was to help immigrant and refugee youth to adapt to a city in Newfoundland, where newcomers often face an insider/outsider dynamic of disconnection. The Open Studio was structured along seven parameters: focus on intentional art-making; no judgmental commentary (positive or negative); non-evaluative in nature; no forced participation, including witnessing and sharing; and as importantly, participatory involvement of facilitators. The participant-planned and hosted final school exhibit contributed to learning, sharing, and group cohesiveness. A plain language needs assessment, semi-structured interviews, and focus group, were also used to generate data on how an Open Studio informs cultural experiences and feelings of integration and belonging.             Keywords:  Immigrant and refugee youth, art-making, belonging, integration


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