‘Aiming for Integration’—Acculturation Strategies Among Refugee Youth in Sweden: A Qualitative Study Using a Resilience Framework

Abstract

In 2022, one in 20 minors in Sweden had a refugee background. As most refugees do not return to their countries of origin, understanding successful resettlement should be prioritised. Acculturation and psychological resilience are useful concepts, as both acknowledge the interplay between individual and contextual factors in sociocultural adjustment. However, less is known about the role of resilience in the selection and maintenance of acculturation strategies, especially among refugee youth. This qualitative interview study aimed to investigate how acculturation strategies may be shaped by risks and resources using a socioecological resilience framework. The narratives of 22 refugee youth in Sweden were explored using reflexive thematic analysis. Deductive coding, informed by an established socioecological model of immigrant youth adaptation, examined the interplay between individual acculturation motivations and contextual factors. The analysis resulted in six themes: (1) war, peace, and opportunities (global forces); (2) (dis)orientation and comparisons (socio-political context); (3) aiming for integration (individual/motivation to acculturate); (4) learning to belong (microsystem—school); (5) inclusion and exclusion (microsystem—friends); (6) support, conflict, and accord (microsystem—family). The analysis highlights how resilience resources may enable maintenance, while frustration and discrimination can pose a risk to the maintenance of a preferred integration strategy.