Children don't think about these things

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

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2937883
AutoresLida Anagnostaki (0000-0002-4019-9160, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, autor de correspondencia), Alexandra Zaharia (0000-0001-7023-5700, Hellenic Association of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Association, Cholargos, Greece)
Año2023
Volumen40
Número11
Páginas3464-3484
Fecha de publicación2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/02654075231175633
OpenAlexW4376280410
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias 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