Refugee parents’ experiences of coming to Sweden

A qualitative study

Bibliographic Data

ID11208111
AuthorsMaja Västhagen (0000-0002-3116-517X, Karolinska Institutet, corresponding author), Metin Özdemir (0000-0003-2041-211X), Ata Ghaderi (0000-0001-8483-7964, Karolinska Institutet), Birgitta Kimber (Umeå University), Clover Jack Giles (Örebro University), Sevgi Bayram Özdemir (0000-0003-4568-2722, Örebro University), Brit Oppedal (0000-0002-8048-8549, Norwegian Institute of Public Health), Pia Enebrink (0000-0002-1082-683X, Karolinska Institutet)
Year2022
Volume91
Pages97-109
Publication date2022-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Intercultural Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0147-1767 • E-ISSN: 1873-7552
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.08.010
OpenAlexW4296160198
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited38

Each year, millions of people worldwide are forced to leave their homes. Many of those affected are families. There are already a considerable number of initiatives designed to support refugees who are resettling in new countries and cultures. However, few are promotive interventions aiming to support parents and thereby their children through the extraordinary challenges they face. To develop a culturally adaptive intervention, more knowledge about how refugee parents from different countries perceive and handle these challenges is needed. This study explores refugee parents’ own perspectives on the obstacles, challenges and opportunities they faced during their first years in Sweden to guide the future development of promotive interventions for refugee parents. Interviews were conducted with Arabic, Kurdish, and Somali-speaking refugee parents (n = 28; 19 mothers, 9 fathers). The interviews were examined using content analysis. One overarching theme emerged; “The new language is the key for entering social networks and society, and for helping your child in a new country”. The new language was viewed as a key to integration, and to mastering parenthood in the new context. This theme consisted of four categories; “parents’ motivation and hope as driving forces,” “navigating among past and present culture and values”, “loneliness as a risk factor” and “a new way of being a parent and relating to an acculturation gap”. These findings may help guide the development of parenting interventions for refugees, to promote integration and well-being among parents and their children

Acculturation · Context (archaeology · Developmental psychology · Immigration · Intervention (counseling · Loneliness · Political science · Psychological intervention · Qualitative research · Refugee · Social science · Sociology · Somali · Family Support in Illness · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social Psychology

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