{"title":"Social Support From Friends Among Unaccompanied Young Refugees","authors":"Serap Keles, B. Oppedal","doi":"10.1027/2512-8442/a000098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Background: Social support is an important resource and source of self-esteem and belongingness for all children and youths. Yet, for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee minors, who leave their home countries without a caretaking adult, extra-familial social, supportive networks in exile may be crucial for their well-being. We propose that their origin in collectivist cultures involves resources for re-establishing social networks in countries of resettlement. Aim: The overall aim of this study is to examine if cultural factors such as values and self-construals are associated with variations in perceived social support from friends among unaccompanied young refugees. We propose a model in which related self-construals mediate the association between collectivist values and perceived friend support. Method: We collected cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data from 611 unaccompanied young refugees (84.5% male; Mage = 18.49 years, SD = 2.57 years) who had been granted residence in Norway. Results: Structural equation analyses revealed that higher levels of collectivist values were associated with stronger related self-construals, which, in turn, were positively associated with stronger perceived support from friends. However, related self-construals only acted as a partial mediator. Limitations: The generalizability of our findings to other groups of immigrant children and youth and/or to unaccompanied refugees in other countries is unknown and should be examined in future studies. Conclusion: Our results contribute new theoretical knowledge about how the development of social supportive relationships in the diaspora is embedded in cross-cultural contexts. Maintaining aspects of one’s heritage culture can promote resilient outcomes among unaccompanied young refugees.","PeriodicalId":51983,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Health Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal of Health Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000098","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract. Background: Social support is an important resource and source of self-esteem and belongingness for all children and youths. Yet, for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee minors, who leave their home countries without a caretaking adult, extra-familial social, supportive networks in exile may be crucial for their well-being. We propose that their origin in collectivist cultures involves resources for re-establishing social networks in countries of resettlement. Aim: The overall aim of this study is to examine if cultural factors such as values and self-construals are associated with variations in perceived social support from friends among unaccompanied young refugees. We propose a model in which related self-construals mediate the association between collectivist values and perceived friend support. Method: We collected cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data from 611 unaccompanied young refugees (84.5% male; Mage = 18.49 years, SD = 2.57 years) who had been granted residence in Norway. Results: Structural equation analyses revealed that higher levels of collectivist values were associated with stronger related self-construals, which, in turn, were positively associated with stronger perceived support from friends. However, related self-construals only acted as a partial mediator. Limitations: The generalizability of our findings to other groups of immigrant children and youth and/or to unaccompanied refugees in other countries is unknown and should be examined in future studies. Conclusion: Our results contribute new theoretical knowledge about how the development of social supportive relationships in the diaspora is embedded in cross-cultural contexts. Maintaining aspects of one’s heritage culture can promote resilient outcomes among unaccompanied young refugees.
期刊介绍:
Die "Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie" wurde gegründet, um dem raschen Anwachsen gesundheitspsychologischer Forschung sowie deren Relevanz für verschiedene Anwendungsfelder gerecht zu werden. Gesundheitspsychologie versteht sich als wissenschaftlicher Beitrag der Psychologie zur Förderung und Erhaltung von Gesundheit, zur Verhütung und Behandlung von Krankheiten, zur Bestimmung von Risikoverhaltensweisen, zur Diagnose und Ursachenbestimmung von gesundheitlichen Störungen sowie zur Verbessung des Systems gesundheitlicher Vorsorge.