Children don't think about these things

Qualitative research on the relationship views and experiences of former unaccompanied refugee children

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2937883
AutoresLida Anagnostaki (0000-0002-4019-9160, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, autor correspondente), Alexandra Zaharia (0000-0001-7023-5700, Hellenic Association of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Association, Cholargos, Greece)
Ano2023
Volume40
Fascículo11
Páginas3464-3484
Data de publicação2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/02654075231175633
OpenAlexW4376280410
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas47

Αlthough unaccompanied refugee minors have sadly been and still are a part of the movements observed worldwide of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing persecution, violence and war, there seems to be limited research on their relationships from their viewpoint. The present study explored the relationship experiences of former unaccompanied refugee children (now older adults). During the Greek civil war (1944-1949) thousands of children between the ages of three to 14 were taken from their villages in Greece and settled as unaccompanied refugees in institutions in countries of the former Eastern Bloc. The research sought to gain a rich understanding of their views and experiences regarding personal relationships. Nine older adults (8 men and 1 woman), who were separated from their families when they were younger than 10 years of age, were interviewed. Their narratives were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The themes that emerged from the analysis demonstrated that attachment ties to their parents were severely affected by separation raising questions as regards the existence of attachment representations, the importance of relationships seemed generally undermined, while the role of peers was accentuated. The participants' resilience and coping mechanisms are also discussed

Coping (psychology · Developmental psychology · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Narrative · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Psychological resilience · Qualitative research · Refugee · Social science · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Clinical Psychology · Family Support in Illness · Gender Studies · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology