Periodic Reporting for period 4 - CHILDMOVE (The impact of flight experiences on the psychological wellbeing of unaccompanied refugee minors)
Reporting period: 2021-08-01 to 2022-09-30
Increasingly since 2015, media confront us with horrible images of refugee children drowning in the Mediterranean, surviving in appalling conditions in camps or walking across Europe. Importantly, little scientific work explored the impact these flight experiences have on refugee children’s emotional wellbeing.
Based on innovative methodological approaches, ChildMove addressed these gaps through a longitudinal follow-up study of a large group of unaccompanied refugees moving across different countries and international borders. Accordingly, we documented the psychological impact that flight experiences have on URMs, and analysed how care and reception structures can contribute in reducing this mental health impact.
Our study showed how the trajectories of the unaccompanied minors we followed are very long and complex, also on the European continent. How these trajectories evolve over time is impacted by diverse and changing migration motives and critical events, such as residence documents, educational opportunities, living situation in the reception centre or familial decisions.
Throughout these complex and often long trajectories, unaccompanied refugee minors experience many and very difficult traumatic events on their way to and in Europe. The living situation in Libya, especially in the detention centres where these minors are incarcerated, is extremely hard. But also on their way to Europe and in Europe, these young refugees and migrants keep on experience multiple and diverse adverse situations, such as physical abuse, sexual violence, detention, repeated experiences of stigma, extremely long waiting periods and uncertainty, and harsh living conditions, creating ‘loops of violence’. These experiences strongly impact minors’ mental wellbeing, leading to high levels of psychological problems, also on the longer term, both impacted by past traumatic experiences and current daily stressors.
Minors feel supported by a diverse social network that changes over time. Specific support is felt by other migrants and refugees they learn to know while being on the move and by volunteers that give them different types of support along their trajectories. Minors use different coping strategies, which also change in response to diverse challenges and stressors. Reception structures set up for these young refugees can be very supportive, but can also fail to meet their needs and expectations.
Based on these findings, important recommendations are put forward for policy-makers and practitioners to consider when realizing the care and reception structures for these young refugees and migrants.
Based on innovative methodological approaches, ChildMove addressed these gaps through a longitudinal follow-up study of a large group of unaccompanied refugees moving across different countries and international borders. Accordingly, we documented the psychological impact that flight experiences have on URMs, and analysed how care and reception structures can contribute in reducing this mental health impact.
Our study showed how the trajectories of the unaccompanied minors we followed are very long and complex, also on the European continent. How these trajectories evolve over time is impacted by diverse and changing migration motives and critical events, such as residence documents, educational opportunities, living situation in the reception centre or familial decisions.
Throughout these complex and often long trajectories, unaccompanied refugee minors experience many and very difficult traumatic events on their way to and in Europe. The living situation in Libya, especially in the detention centres where these minors are incarcerated, is extremely hard. But also on their way to Europe and in Europe, these young refugees and migrants keep on experience multiple and diverse adverse situations, such as physical abuse, sexual violence, detention, repeated experiences of stigma, extremely long waiting periods and uncertainty, and harsh living conditions, creating ‘loops of violence’. These experiences strongly impact minors’ mental wellbeing, leading to high levels of psychological problems, also on the longer term, both impacted by past traumatic experiences and current daily stressors.
Minors feel supported by a diverse social network that changes over time. Specific support is felt by other migrants and refugees they learn to know while being on the move and by volunteers that give them different types of support along their trajectories. Minors use different coping strategies, which also change in response to diverse challenges and stressors. Reception structures set up for these young refugees can be very supportive, but can also fail to meet their needs and expectations.
Based on these findings, important recommendations are put forward for policy-makers and practitioners to consider when realizing the care and reception structures for these young refugees and migrants.
ChildMove’s overall objective - to increase knowledge about the impact of experiences occurring during the flight on the psychological wellbeing of unaccompanied refugee minors - was answered in three studies.
Preceding data collection, the team requested ethical clearances in the respective study countries, contacted gatekeepers to gain permissions for entering the places where we wanted to recruit minors (cf. infra), determined, adapted and translated the quantitative and qualitative research instruments and created a broad strategy to deal with the ethical challenges, including data management.
Study 1 was an in-depth study using mixed-methods in four countries: Libya, Greece, Italy and Belgium. We selected diverse settings where unaccompanied minors reside (e.g. detention centres, shelters for unaccompanied minors/victims of trafficking, informal camps) where we first conducted participant observations. After this initial period, possible participants (over 14 y/) were invited to join the study (n=289) for the first measurement using in-depth interviews and self-report questionnaires. We also conducted a visual ethnography (i.e. graffiti inscriptions found in these sites).
Study 2 was a longitudinal study following the participants (n=192; due to ethical reasons we excluded the participants in Libya) for a period of 18 to 24 months. We conducted two additional measurement moments (interviews and questionnaires, completed with messages through social media and participant observations) in the places and countries where the participants were residing (n=124) in measurement moment 2, and n=85 in measurement 3).
Study 3 brought data from study 1 and 2 together with an earlier study (PhD M. Vervliet) and theoretical reflections on the conceptual difference between daily stressors and traumatic events were made.
Strong emphasis was put on the dissemination of the research results: several papers have been or are about to be published in international, peer-reviewed journals and books, others are still prepared. Three PhDs have been successfully defended and one is about to submit.
Further, the entire team has put extensive efforts to disseminate the findings and related recommendations for policy and practice to practitioners and policymakers: in each of the countries where we worked, we organized at least two times (start and end of the project) a workshop with practitioners and policy makers to speak about the study and its findings; we wrote a report with policy briefs, illustrated with visuals; we disseminated study findings in an accessible way through podcasts (on the childmove.eu website) and summaries; we extensively participated in trainings, workshops, small meetings and conferences to further the societal impact of our project.
Preceding data collection, the team requested ethical clearances in the respective study countries, contacted gatekeepers to gain permissions for entering the places where we wanted to recruit minors (cf. infra), determined, adapted and translated the quantitative and qualitative research instruments and created a broad strategy to deal with the ethical challenges, including data management.
Study 1 was an in-depth study using mixed-methods in four countries: Libya, Greece, Italy and Belgium. We selected diverse settings where unaccompanied minors reside (e.g. detention centres, shelters for unaccompanied minors/victims of trafficking, informal camps) where we first conducted participant observations. After this initial period, possible participants (over 14 y/) were invited to join the study (n=289) for the first measurement using in-depth interviews and self-report questionnaires. We also conducted a visual ethnography (i.e. graffiti inscriptions found in these sites).
Study 2 was a longitudinal study following the participants (n=192; due to ethical reasons we excluded the participants in Libya) for a period of 18 to 24 months. We conducted two additional measurement moments (interviews and questionnaires, completed with messages through social media and participant observations) in the places and countries where the participants were residing (n=124) in measurement moment 2, and n=85 in measurement 3).
Study 3 brought data from study 1 and 2 together with an earlier study (PhD M. Vervliet) and theoretical reflections on the conceptual difference between daily stressors and traumatic events were made.
Strong emphasis was put on the dissemination of the research results: several papers have been or are about to be published in international, peer-reviewed journals and books, others are still prepared. Three PhDs have been successfully defended and one is about to submit.
Further, the entire team has put extensive efforts to disseminate the findings and related recommendations for policy and practice to practitioners and policymakers: in each of the countries where we worked, we organized at least two times (start and end of the project) a workshop with practitioners and policy makers to speak about the study and its findings; we wrote a report with policy briefs, illustrated with visuals; we disseminated study findings in an accessible way through podcasts (on the childmove.eu website) and summaries; we extensively participated in trainings, workshops, small meetings and conferences to further the societal impact of our project.
The ChildMove study revealed the complexity of differentiating daily stressors operating in the country of residence from traumatic experiences. While these two elements have been said to be relatively distinct, it became clear that current daily stressors might be experienced as traumatic events. Or, that daily stressors may be perceived differently over time, ‘turning into’ a traumatic experience. Ongoing and further analysis of our data will allow to underpin this conceptual unclarity to search for novel views and theoretical frames - which may have a strong impact on other research fields, such as trauma studies.
The ChildMove study also documented the complexity of unaccompanied minors’ mobility and migration trajectories, whereby a range of diverse risk and protective factors impact their mental health, also on the longer term. The unique access to different detention centres in Libya and Greece during this project allowed to document the mental health impact of detention for this particular group. Equally, the evidence that ChildMove furthered on the longitudinal mental health impact of experiences of racism, repeated experiences of violence and daily stressors, and social support networks will add to the inclusion of a broader range of risk and protective factors when studying mental health in migrant and refugee populations.
The ChildMove project documented the novel methodologies we developed for this project, in particular the possibilities and challenges related to a longitudinal follow-up of a hard-to-reach population that is still on the move with a mixed-methods approach, the possibilities embedded in the use of visual ethnography (graffiti inscriptions), and the methodological and ethical challenges related to these methodological approaches.
Last, the ChildMove project showed how research findings can strongly connect to policymakers and practitioners, how researchers can disseminate their findings efficiently, and as such can realise a significant societal impact.
The ChildMove study also documented the complexity of unaccompanied minors’ mobility and migration trajectories, whereby a range of diverse risk and protective factors impact their mental health, also on the longer term. The unique access to different detention centres in Libya and Greece during this project allowed to document the mental health impact of detention for this particular group. Equally, the evidence that ChildMove furthered on the longitudinal mental health impact of experiences of racism, repeated experiences of violence and daily stressors, and social support networks will add to the inclusion of a broader range of risk and protective factors when studying mental health in migrant and refugee populations.
The ChildMove project documented the novel methodologies we developed for this project, in particular the possibilities and challenges related to a longitudinal follow-up of a hard-to-reach population that is still on the move with a mixed-methods approach, the possibilities embedded in the use of visual ethnography (graffiti inscriptions), and the methodological and ethical challenges related to these methodological approaches.
Last, the ChildMove project showed how research findings can strongly connect to policymakers and practitioners, how researchers can disseminate their findings efficiently, and as such can realise a significant societal impact.