Coping with life in a new country – affect regulation based on unaccompanied refugee minors’ needs

Abstract

ABSTRACTMany unaccompanied refugee minors have experienced adversity, stress and/or trauma. This article discusses how to create a supportive environment for unaccompanied minors with refugee status in residential care and what challenges are present. How do these young people describe their strategies to cope with life? Self-regulation for these young people refers to the ability to regulate emotions to influence their behaviour based on emotional and social demands in a particular situation. Through co-regulation they learn to self-regulate emotions with available, trustworthy and empathetic caregivers in an interactive process. Awareness of the adult’s own feelings is important. In co-regulation, the adults combine soothing language with a willingness to ignore provocative behaviour with young people who are emotionally upset. Data were collected through interviews with 10 unaccompanied refugee minors with experience of residential care. The aim was to examine what challenges these young people experience in creating a supportive environment, and how do they describe their strategies for coping with challenges. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. This article formulates issues of possible ways of supporting unaccompanied refugee minors in the process of life in a new country.