Making Sense of Life in Iran
Afghan Refugee Youths' Social Representations Through an Arts‐Based Approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6434082 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J Martikainen (0000-0001-8027-2417, Department of Social Sciences University of Eastern Finland Kuopio Finland), Hesam Farahani (0000-0003-4555-603X, Department of Social Sciences University of Eastern Finland Kuopio Finland), Sayyed Nader Musavi (Faculty of Social Sciences University of Tehran) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1052-9284 • E-ISSN: 1099-1298 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/casp.70194 |
| OpenAlex | W4415413659 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 66 |
This study explores how Afghan refugee children and adolescents living in Iran make sense of their everyday lives through the lens of social representations theory and an arts‐based methodology. Eighty‐five participants ages 10–19 created drawings and written reflections in response to a prompt asking what they would like Iranian people to know about their lives. The data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Participants shared thoughts, emotions, and aspirations regarding Afghan–Iranian relations, resulting in four distinct social representations: (1) problematic relations between Afghan and Iranian people, (2) friendly relations between Afghan and Iranian youth, (3) social and cultural barriers, and (4) hopes for peaceful coexistence in the future. While most participants expressed feelings of exclusion, discrimination, and limited access to education, others shared experiences of kindness and friendship, expressing hopes for mutual understanding and harmony. This research offers insight into Afghan refugee youth's everyday lives and social relations in Iran. Theoretically, it advances understanding of social representations and related social identities among youth, especially those navigating life between two cultures. Methodologically, it demonstrates the value of arts‐based approaches in capturing the complex, layered experiences of displaced young people and their processes of meaning‐making
Art Therapy and Mental Health · Community Health and Development · Migration, Health and Trauma
The Language of Peace
Social Representations and the Development of Knowledge
Research Methods in Education
Reading Images
Qualitative Content Analysis
Mental health of displaced and refugee children resettled in low-income and middle-income countries
The qualitative content analysis process
Social representations
The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior
Social Representations in the 'Social Arena'
Constructing public worlds
Exploring the Experiences of Resilience in Muslim Afghan Refugee Children
Education of Afghan refugee children in Iran
Representations of exile in Afghan oral poetry and songs
Syrian Refugees Minors in Turkey. Why and how are they Discriminated Against and Ostracized
Confidence in Contact
Power and Participation
Social representations of educability in Finland
Social representations of teachership based on students’ and teachers’ drawings of a typical teacher
Social identity
Afghans in Iran
Formation of hatred emotions toward Afghan refugees in Iran
Re‐presentation and resistance in the context of school exclusion
Researching Refugee Youth in the Middle East
Schools and Refugee Children
Towards a Paradigm for Research on Social Representations
Social Representations
Identity in Whose Eyes? The Role of Representations in Identity Construction
The Rehabilitation of Common Sense
Refugees, migrants, neither, both
On the Knowledge of Politics and the Politics of Knowledge
"How Can I Trust People When They Know Exactly What My Weakness Is?" Daily Life Experiences, and Resilience Strategies of Stateless Afghans in Iran
He always thinks he is nothing
Representing emotive meaning in visual images
Drawing as a method of researching social representations
Toward a Sacred Discourse
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |