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Article
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Sayedhabibollah Ahmadi Forooshani, Kate Murray, Nigar Khawaja and Zahra Izadikhah

The purpose of this study was to propose a benchmark model for the process of post-migration social adjustment based on the points of view and experiences of young individuals…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to propose a benchmark model for the process of post-migration social adjustment based on the points of view and experiences of young individuals from forced-migration backgrounds.

Design/methodology/approach

Twelve young adults (18–24 years) living in Australia with an experience of forced migration and from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through thematic analysis.

Findings

The results showed that post-migration social adjustment requires effective interactions within individual, family and community domains. The participants proposed specific characteristics, enablers and barriers for each domain that can affect the process of social adjustment after the experience of forced migration.

Originality/value

Based on the reported points of view and experiences of participants in this study, the authors proposed an ecological model that can be considered as a preliminary benchmark to inform policymaking, research and services focusing on the social adjustment of young refugees. The practical implications for resettlement programs are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Children and the Climate Migration Crisis: A Casebook for Global Climate Action in Practice and Policy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-910-9

Abstract

Details

Children and the Climate Migration Crisis: A Casebook for Global Climate Action in Practice and Policy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-910-9

Article
Publication date: 24 November 2023

Michelle Y. Martin Romero, Dorcas Mabiala Johnson, Esther Mununga and Gabriela Livas Stein

This paper aims to explore the intersection of cultural processes and immigration in parental understanding of adolescent mental health and mental health seeking behaviors among…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the intersection of cultural processes and immigration in parental understanding of adolescent mental health and mental health seeking behaviors among African immigrants in Western countries. The present study examines the perspectives of Congolese immigrant parents on adolescent mental health in Brussels, Belgium, and Raleigh, North Carolina, USA – two geographic regions with relatively large Congolese migrant populations. This study highlights a needed understanding of cultural and acculturative context in shaping the beliefs of Congolese immigrants and explores potential barriers of seeking health services. Additionally, it recognizes health issues among this underrepresented and underserved population.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifteen Congolese immigrant parents, eight in the USA and seven in Belgium, participated in structured qualitative interviews using an adapted version of Kleinman Questions and behavioral scenarios on depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Interviews were audio recorded, and participants were assigned pseudonyms to de-identify responses. English interviews were transcribed verbatim by a trained team of undergraduate research assistants, and French interviews were transcribed verbatim by the first author and a graduate research assistant. Following transcription, the first and second authors used a rapid analytic approach (Hamilton, 2013). The first and second authors conducted a matrix analysis to observe thematic patterns.

Findings

Parents interpreted adolescent behavior to be more problematic when the scenarios were overtly outside of their cultural realm of values and beliefs. Parents preferred methods of intervention through religious practices and/or family and community efforts rather than seeking mental health services in their host countries as a secondary option. The authors’ findings provide an understanding of the values and beliefs of this underrepresented demographic, which may be useful to guide health professionals on how to support this community in a culturally responsive way.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations to the current study include the structured nature of the interview guide that did not allow for in-depth qualitative exploration. Interviewed participants had lived in their host countries for more than 10+ years. Thus, the authors’ findings are not reflective of new immigrants’ experiences. Parents’ perspectives were likely shaped by exposure to Western beliefs related to support for mental health (e.g. knowledge of psychologists). Future studies should focus on recent refugees due to exposure to traumatic events and experiences reflective of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) current socio-political situation, and how these are understood in the context of adolescent mental health. Further, due to the hypothetical nature of the scenarios, the authors cannot be sure that participants would engage in the identified approaches with their children. Additionally, hearing from the youth’s perspective would provide a clearer insight on how mental health and seeking professional help is viewed in a parent–child relationship. Finally, the data for this study were collected in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the authors cannot speak directly to Congolese refugee and immigrant experiences during this significant historical period, given the rise in mental health concerns in refugee populations more broadly (Logie et al., 2022), the authors’ findings speak to how parents may have responded to increased mental health symptoms and point to additional barriers that these populations may have faced in accessing support. The authors’ study emphasizes the need for dedicating resources and attention to this population, especially the development of culturally tailored messaging that invites community members to support the mental health needs of their community.

Practical implications

The authors’ findings provide important implications for mental health professionals. This study provides a clearer understanding of how Congolese immigrant parents view mental health and help-seeking within their cultural frame. Although parents may seek professional help, a distrust of mental health services was expressed across both cohorts. This suggests that mental health professionals should acknowledge potential distrust among this population and clarify their role in supporting the mental health of adolescent immigrants. Clinicians should inquire about familial cultural beliefs that are parent- and child-centered and modify their interventions to fit these belief structures.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the gap in knowledge about mental health perspectives of Sub-Saharan African immigrant populations, specifically those from the DRC.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Nikita Rao, Jessica Kumar, Erin A. Weeks, Shannon Self-Brown, Cathleen E. Willging, Mary Helen O'Connor and Daniel J. Whitaker

Parent–child relationships formed in early childhood have profound implications for a child’s development and serve as a determinant for bio-social outcomes in adulthood. Positive…

Abstract

Purpose

Parent–child relationships formed in early childhood have profound implications for a child’s development and serve as a determinant for bio-social outcomes in adulthood. Positive parenting behaviors play a strong role in this development and are especially impactful during times of crisis because they buffer stressors that may lead to externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Children of forced migrants experience numerous extreme stressors and their parents may struggle with parenting due to their own adjustment and trauma histories. The purpose of this study is to understand how these parents conceptualize their struggles with parenting upon resettlement.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 migrant parents from three communities (Afghan, Burmese and Congolese) to understand their parenting experiences. The authors applied thematic text analysis to analyze the data.

Findings

The authors identified four interrelated themes on parenting challenges across responses: adjustment to a new culture, acculturation differences, fear for children and balancing multiple responsibilities. The findings demonstrate that parents of different cultural backgrounds share certain experiences when negotiating a new cultural identity after resettlement. Providing educational programs that focus on these concerns may result in better outcomes for both parent and child.

Originality/value

These findings extend and reinforce the existing literature on parenting in a new context. While the parents in this research come from different cultures, they share certain experiences that are important to consider when developing parenting programs, social services and other interventions, such as what may be negotiable and nonnegotiable practices for parents of different cultures.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Children and the Climate Migration Crisis: A Casebook for Global Climate Action in Practice and Policy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-910-9

Article
Publication date: 20 December 2022

Randa Salamoun, Charlotte M. Karam and Crystel Abdallah

The authors explore the entanglement of smartphone technology and power in this paper. This paper explores the following question: In what ways does the actualization of…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors explore the entanglement of smartphone technology and power in this paper. This paper explores the following question: In what ways does the actualization of smartphone affordances result in empowering outcomes (i.e. increase or reduce oppression) in the daily lives of refugees? Leveraging both affordance and feminist theories, the authors develop a hybrid lens bringing attention to the contextualized relationship between social process goals and affordances for sociality, upon which the authors introduce the notion of “goal-affordance interrelations”. The authors then trace how the actualization of these interrelations increases or reduces oppression.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an abductive approach, the authors analyze 32 semi-structured interview transcriptions conducted with Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Findings

The analysis in this study reveals four categories of social process goals (meet financial needs, satisfy security needs, communicate and learn and maintain pre-existing social ties) that are intimate components of contextually meaningful affordances. When actualized, the goal–affordance interrelations fundamentally shape refugee experiences of power outcomes. The findings suggest forms of empowerment where powerlessness, marginalization, violence and exploitation are perceived to be reduced. Actualization outcomes are also found to increase perceived oppression. Additionally, the findings reveal that not all interrelations are actualized, such that the anticipation of an oppressive power outcome may limit the actualization of affordances for sociality.

Originality/value

This research raises considerations concerning technology and oppression, and that efforts to empower refugees through technology should critically question whether the lived experiences of oppression will be reduced. The findings of this study reveal various forms of less empowering (i.e. oppressive) outcomes for the refugees sampled, they also point to the potential politicization of the actualization of goal–affordance interrelations.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Children and the Climate Migration Crisis: A Casebook for Global Climate Action in Practice and Policy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-910-9

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Federica Fava

The paper introduces ethical and aesthetical implications emerging from participative forms of adaptive heritage reuse. Its aim is to depict the overall framework to contextualize…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper introduces ethical and aesthetical implications emerging from participative forms of adaptive heritage reuse. Its aim is to depict the overall framework to contextualize the investigations explored in the Special Issue titled “Ethics and aesthetics of adaptive heritage reuse in Europe.” Therefore, the article confronts with potentialities and contradictions of “open” heritage processes, introducing key critical elements to recode heritage practices and planning in today’s conjuncture of global change.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper drawn on a literature review, which combines different bodies of studies: heritage, urban studies, care studies and recent policy documents. A photographic essay, moreover, serves to “augment” the presented argumentations through a visual apparatus resulting from one of Gaia Ginevra Giorgi’s artwork, which develops in the intersection between performative art, participation and territorial reuse.

Findings

The author argues that for adaptive heritage reuse to be really sustainable, ethical and aesthetical heritage codes need to be reassessed and reoriented toward the present socio-ecological priorities, multiplicating the ways cultural heritage is conceived, valued and reused. The paper suggests proceeding along the creative paths of uncertainty, providing the first elements to develop political projects of abundance and enjoyment for current urban settlements.

Practical implications

The presented argumentations can be used as a baseline by heritage managers and policymakers to experiment with participative processes of adaptive heritage reuse and to identify more environmentally and socially just trajectories of urban development.

Originality/value

The paper expands the concept of adaptive heritage reuse, considering the active participation of both human and non-human agents. Treating heritage in a laic way, namely free from absolute and preordered judgments of value, it deals with uncomfortable heritage materiality and contexts, illuminating the quality of unpleasant or odd forms of beauty.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2023

Ross Gordon and Josina Vink

The purpose of this commentary is to present a critically constructive examination of the contribution of service research to the development of services from institutions that…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this commentary is to present a critically constructive examination of the contribution of service research to the development of services from institutions that offer fair and sustainable living for all humans.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw upon critical thinking and critical social theory to problematise the neoliberal agenda (e.g. marketisation and privatisation) that shapes the service ecosystems within which the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and service research relating to SDG11 – sustainable cities and communities – and SDG16 – peace, justice and strong institutions – are often based. The authors critically review extant literature aimed at these goals and present constructive pathways for transformative social change to foster fair and sustainable living for all.

Findings

The authors find that the United Nations institutions, the SDGs and the service ecosystems that shape the research and practice addressing SDG11 and SDG16 are often grounded in neoliberal capitalist ideology that may inhibit transformative change. While service research has made some relevant and important contributions to support the development of services from institutions that offer fair and sustainable living, there is a need to consider alternative assumptions upon which service research and service design can be based to fully realise such transformative goals.

Originality/value

This commentary encourages service research scholars to engage with critically constructive perspectives that harness critique for transformative change.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

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