Negotiating developmental projects: Unaccompanied Afghan refugee boys in Norway

Unaccompanied refugee minors are, like other youngsters, making their moves towards adulthood, but under most challenging conditions. Informed by a cultural psychological approach to development, we analysed interviews with 18 unaccompanied Afghan boys and their professional caregivers. ‘Establishin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Childhood (Copenhagen, Denmark) Denmark), 2018-02, Vol.25 (1), p.78-92
Main Authors: Omland, Guro Brokke, Andenas, Agnes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Bargaining
Boys
Caregivers
Coping
Country of origin
Medical personnel
Psychological development
Refugees
Significant others
Unaccompanied
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Unaccompanied refugee minors are, like other youngsters, making their moves towards adulthood, but under most challenging conditions. Informed by a cultural psychological approach to development, we analysed interviews with 18 unaccompanied Afghan boys and their professional caregivers. ‘Establishing a liveable life in Norway’ and ‘helping the family in the country of origin’ were analysed as central developmental projects for the boys, the former actively supported by the caregivers, the latter typically not. Considering what each individual is trying to achieve and how their projects are received by significant others sheds light on the boys’ struggles, as well as their coping.
ISSN:0907-5682
1461-7013
DOI:10.1177/0907568217718032