Abstract
Purpose There is substantial research on the experiences, needs and well-being of unaccompanied refugee adolescents, but less is known about existential aspects of their lives. The purpose of the current study is to explore existential meaning-making among unaccompanied refugee children. Design/methodology/approach The informants in this study are young unaccompanied refugees (n = 30) living in Norway, and young Norwegians (n = 46). The authors undertook a secondary analysis of in-depth qualitative refugee interview data and a quantitative analysis of questionnaire data from Norwegian informants. Findings Both the refugee youths and the Norwegian youths expressed that social relationships and connections to others were most important for meaning. Moreover, both groups emphasized the importance of relatedness and generativity, i. e. commitment to worldly affairs beyond one’s immediate needs. The main differences between the two groups were related to the significance attached to religion and to loneliness. Research limitations/implications The comparison between the two groups is only possible to some degree. Secondary analyses have some limitations, as well as strengths. Practical implications The findings may be useful for supporting young refugees, as they provide insights into less-studied aspects of their lives. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in the focus on and broad interpretation of meaning, of secondary data analyses, and of comparisons between youths that are refugees versus non-refugees.
Highlights
Every year, thousands of children and youths travel alone to seek refuge and asylum in Europe, and many resettle in a host country
The main findings were that the meaning aspects that could be identified in the interviews with young unaccompanied refugees were related to social relationships and loneliness, commitment to activities and goals beyond merely meeting their own needs and spirituality and religion
We found that mother and God are the most important sources of meaning, and that this is different from the young people in the non-refugee population and may be attributed to being in a difficult life situation
Summary
Thousands of children and youths travel alone to seek refuge and asylum in Europe, and many resettle in a host country. The lives of these children are often made difficult due to current life stressors, as well as past exposure to dangers and loss. To understand young refugees’ adaption and development, existential aspects of their lives must be included. This is illustrated by the significance attributed to multimodal interventions and the interplay between many variables in models for the study of refugee children and youth, including social bonds, a sense of justice; identity; and existential meaning (Fazel, 2018; Silove, 2013). The purpose of the current study is to explore meaningmaking among unaccompanied refugee children and asylum-seeking adolescents
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