Development opportunities for adolescents growing up in migratory families in the context of hope of success

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of hope for success among adolescents growing up in migrant families. This issue is related to the problems of social work, family sociology, and psychology of human development. The knowledge of development opportunities for young people from migrant families may be of particular cognitive value for social workers who face the protective potential of the migrant family in practice. Parents’ departure leads to children becoming independent rapidly, and to family influence on the individual’s life becoming shorter. Many researchers deal with the problem of the negative consequences of migration separation for child development. Few works show the development opportunities and potential of people growing up in families that are spatially separated due to migration. The article describes a fragment of youth’s functioning who had to undertake new duties because of their parents’ departure, such as: taking over the care of their siblings, running their household, and looking after their grandparents with whom they live in the absence of their parents. To determine the level of hope for success among those young people, the Hope for Success Questionnaire by Mariola Łaguna, Jerzy Trzebiński, and Mariusz Zięba was used. The study covered 87 teenagers attending upper-secondary schools in Kujawy-Pomerania Province. The control group consisted of young people whose parents did not migrate abroad for economic reasons, while the criterion group consisted of adolescents growing up in disconnected families. Social workers’ activities include providing help to families. The knowledge of the specific functioning of migration families can help to better support such families. The article aims to discuss the issue of adolescents growing up in migrant families who, because of their parents’ economic migration, must face new responsibilities, often typical of an adult and inadequate for their developmental level.