Objectif Since early 2015, the media continuously confront us with images of refugee children drowning in the Mediterranean, surviving in appalling conditions in camps or walking across Europe. Within this group of fleeing children, a considerable number is travelling without parents, the unaccompanied refugee minors. While the media images testify to these flight experiences and their possible huge impact on unaccompanied minors’ wellbeing, there has been no systematic research to fully capture these experiences, nor their mental health impact. Equally, no evidence exists on whether the emotional impact of these flight experiences should be differentiated from the impact of the traumatic events these minors endured in their home country or from the daily stressors in the country of settlement. This project aims to fundamentally increase our knowledge of the impact of experiences during the flight in relation to past trauma and current stressors. To achieve this aim, it is essential to set up a longitudinal follow-up of a large group of unaccompanied refugee minors, whereby our study starts from different transit countries, crosses several European countries, and uses innovative methodological and mixed-methods approaches. I will hereby not only document the psychological impact these flight experiences may have, but also the way in which care and reception structures for unaccompanied minors in both transit and settlement countries can contribute to reducing this mental health impact. This proposal will fundamentally change the field of migration studies, by introducing a whole new area of study and novel methodological approaches to study these themes. Moreover, other fields, such as trauma studies, will be directly informed by the project, as also clinical, educational and social work interventions for victims of multiple trauma. Last, the findings on the impact of reception and care structures will be highly informative for policy makers and practitioners. Champ scientifique social sciencesmedia and communicationsgraphic designmedical and health sciencesclinical medicinepsychiatryposttraumatic stress disordersocial sciencessociologysocial worksocial sciencessociologydemographyhuman migrations Mots‑clés unaccompanied refugee children psychological wellbeing flight experiences Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Thème(s) ERC-2016-STG - ERC Starting Grant Appel à propositions ERC-2016-STG Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement ERC-STG - Starting Grant Institution d’accueil UNIVERSITEIT GENT Contribution nette de l'UE € 1 432 500,00 Adresse SINT PIETERSNIEUWSTRAAT 25 9000 Gent Belgique Voir sur la carte Région Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Participation aux programmes de R&I de l'UE Opens in new window Réseau de collaboration HORIZON Opens in new window Coût total € 1 432 500,00 Bénéficiaires (1) Trier par ordre alphabétique Trier par contribution nette de l'UE Tout développer Tout réduire UNIVERSITEIT GENT Belgique Contribution nette de l'UE € 1 432 500,00 Adresse SINT PIETERSNIEUWSTRAAT 25 9000 Gent Voir sur la carte Région Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Participation aux programmes de R&I de l'UE Opens in new window Réseau de collaboration HORIZON Opens in new window Coût total € 1 432 500,00