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Giles, C. J., Västhagen, M., Enebrink, P., Ghaderi, A., Oppedal, B. & Khan, S. (2025). ‘Aiming for Integration’ — Acculturation Strategies Among Refugee Youth in Sweden: A Qualitative Study Using a Resilience Framework. Journal of Community and Applied Social Phychology, 35(2), Article ID e70066.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>‘Aiming for Integration’ — Acculturation Strategies Among Refugee Youth in Sweden: A Qualitative Study Using a Resilience Framework
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2025 (English)In: Journal of Community and Applied Social Phychology, ISSN 1052-9284, E-ISSN 1099-1298, Vol. 35, no 2, article id e70066Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

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 soci-oecological 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.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2025
Keywords
acculturation, refuge youth, resilience, resources, risk, Sweden
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-119386 (URN)10.1002/casp.70066 (DOI)001426601400001 ()2-s2.0-85219123718 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2018‐05756Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and WelfareVinnova
Available from: 2025-02-21 Created: 2025-02-21 Last updated: 2025-03-14Bibliographically approved
Giles, C., Västhagen, M., van Leuven, L., Edenius, A., Ghaderi, A. & Enebrink, P. (2025). The efficacy of psychological prevention, and health promotion interventions targeting psychological health, wellbeing or resilience among forced migrant children and youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(1), 123-140
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The efficacy of psychological prevention, and health promotion interventions targeting psychological health, wellbeing or resilience among forced migrant children and youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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2025 (English)In: European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, ISSN 1018-8827, E-ISSN 1435-165X, Vol. 34, no 1, p. 123-140Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

There are over 40 million displaced children and youth worldwide and there is a need promote their mental wellbeing. This study aimed to synthesize evidence regarding promotion interventions to increase wellbeing, resilience, and quality of life (primary outcomes), and prevention interventions to reduce internalizing and externalizing symptoms (secondary outcomes) in this population. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022329978). Medline, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched. Inclusion criteria were: ≥ 10 participants, sample ≤ 18 years of age, no parental participation, explicated forced migrant populations, implementation in non-clinical context, and validated measures. Fifteen studies (N interventions = 18, N participants = 5741) were eligible. Two studies included outcomes related to wellbeing and quality of life. The remaining studies reported depression, PTSD, anxiety, internalizing and externalizing behaviours, and behavioural and emotional problems. There was only sufficient data to perform random-effects meta-analysis of depression scores. No significant effects were observed in comparison to control condition in randomized trials (n = 4994, k = 5) but a small significant positive trend was observed in within-group analyses (n = 537, k = 12). Cochrane's risk of bias tools and the GRADE certainty of evidence tool were applied. No studies achieved low risk of bias and certainty of evidence was very low. In sum, there remains a dearth of rigorous intervention studies investigating the effects of promotive and preventative psychological interventions on the wellbeing, resilience, and quality of life of forcibly displaced minors. However, the few eligible studies in this review indicate promise.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2025
Keywords
Children and youth, Forcibly displaced, Prevention, Promotion, Psychological interventions, Refugee
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-113205 (URN)10.1007/s00787-024-02424-8 (DOI)001415596400001 ()38627307 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85190526624 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Örebro UniversitySwedish Research Council, 2018-05756Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and WelfareVinnova
Note

Funding: Open access funding provided by Örebro University. The time of MV, and part of the time of PE, and AG in co-authorship of this study was funded by the PIA Project, a project that aims to develop interventions to promote the adjustment of newly arrived youth and parents in Sweden, developed by Metin Özdemir (PI, Örebro University), in collaboration with Ata Ghaderi (Karolinska Institutet), Birgitta Kimber (Umeå University), Brit Opedal (Norweigan Institute of Public Health), Pia Enebrink (Karolinska Institutet), and Sevgi Bayram Özdemir (Örebro University). The funding was granted by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), Sweden (Grant code: 2018-05756); FORTE, Sweden; and VINNOVA, Sweden. No funding was received by the remaining authors to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.

Available from: 2024-04-17 Created: 2024-04-17 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved
Giles, C., Skoog, T. & Khan, S. (2024). A comparative Delphi study of immigrant youths’ psychosocial needs in the sociocultural integration process. In: Action Research for Citizen Health, Education & Social Sustainability: Book of Abstracts. Paper presented at Collaborative Action Research Network Conference, Action Research for Citizen Health, Education & Social Sustainability (CARN 2024), Malmö, Sweden, October 24-26, 2024 (pp. 25).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A comparative Delphi study of immigrant youths’ psychosocial needs in the sociocultural integration process
2024 (English)In: Action Research for Citizen Health, Education & Social Sustainability: Book of Abstracts, 2024, p. 25-Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Background: Middle Eastern and African (MENA) born youth living in Sweden are motivated to integrate but face considerable challenges in their integration processes. Participatory development and implementation of evidence-based interventions to promote sociocultural integration and psychological wellbeing may be a route to addressing social and health equity for these youth.

Aim: This pre-study aims to identify acceptable intervention components, and to assess theoretical support for how the components may promote MENA youth’s sociocultural integration and psychological wellbeing.

Method: We will use a three phase Delphi design to investigate convergence in the perceptions of MENA youth, and youth workers. Participants will be 55 MENA born youth aged 15-18, and 55 youth workers. Participants’ suggestions for suitable and effective activities will be garnered in phase one. Common activity themes will be identified through a content analysis and paired with quantitative scales, forming the basis of subsequent data collections. The second and third data collection phases will comprise participants’ quantitative evaluations of suitability and function of the activities. Activities supported by >70% of both groups will undergo deductive thematic analysis to assess consistency with current theories of sociocultural integration and promotion of psychological wellbeing.

Results: The project addresses several current research gaps regarding MENA youths’ integration and wellbeing needs by moving beyond resilience frameworks towards empowerment of MENA youth in the formation and maintenance of their own integration goals through; i) participative exploration of youths’ own identified context specific needs; ii) exploration of youth workers’ perspectives on youth’s needs; iii) convergence in youths’ and adults’ perceptions of youths’ needs, and iv) assessment of external validity of current theories of youth integration and psychosocial wellbeing.

Implications: The results are expected to guide future participatory action research and policy regarding the development and implementation of evidence based and acceptable interventions promoting sociocultural integration and wellbeing among MENA youth in Sweden. Participatory research processes ensure that future interventions developed from this study are directly informed by the lived experiences of MENA youth and youth workers, increasing relevance, culturally appropriateness, and the likelihood of implementation fidelity, adherence, and acceptance.

National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-117212 (URN)
Conference
Collaborative Action Research Network Conference, Action Research for Citizen Health, Education & Social Sustainability (CARN 2024), Malmö, Sweden, October 24-26, 2024
Available from: 2024-11-05 Created: 2024-11-05 Last updated: 2024-11-06Bibliographically approved
Västhagen, M., Özdemir, M., Ghaderi, A., Kimber, B., Giles, C. J., Bayram Özdemir, S., . . . Enebrink, P. (2022). Refugee parents’ experiences of coming to Sweden: A qualitative study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 91, 97-109
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Refugee parents’ experiences of coming to Sweden: A qualitative study
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2022 (English)In: International Journal of Intercultural Relations, ISSN 0147-1767, E-ISSN 1873-7552, Vol. 91, p. 97-109Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Each year, millions of people worldwide are forced to leave their homes. Many of those affected are families. There are already a considerable number of initiatives designed to support refugees who are resettling in new countries and cultures. However, few are promotive interventions aiming to support parents and thereby their children through the extraordinary challenges they face. To develop a culturally adaptive intervention, more knowledge about how refugee parents from different countries perceive and handle these challenges is needed. This study explores refugee parents’ own perspectives on the obstacles, challenges and opportunities they faced during their first years in Sweden to guide the future development of promotive interventions for refugee parents. Interviews were conducted with Arabic, Kurdish, and Somali-speaking refugee parents (n = 28; 19 mothers, 9 fathers). The interviews were examined using content analysis. One overarching theme emerged; “The new language is the key for entering social networks and society, and for helping your child in a new country”. The new language was viewed as a key to integration, and to mastering parenthood in the new context. This theme consisted of four categories; “parents’ motivation and hope as driving forces,” “navigating among past and present culture and values”, “loneliness as a risk factor” and “a new way of being a parent and relating to an acculturation gap”. These findings may help guide the development of parenting interventions for refugees, to promote integration and well-being among parents and their children.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Qualitative study, Parenthood, Refugees, Integration
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-101064 (URN)10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.08.010 (DOI)000894321100009 ()2-s2.0-85138052905 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research CouncilForte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
Available from: 2022-09-02 Created: 2022-09-02 Last updated: 2023-01-04Bibliographically approved
Westerberg, B., Bäärnhielm, S., Giles, C., Hylén, U., Holländare, F. & Bejerot, S. (2021). An Internet Based Intervention for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Qualitative Study of Participants Experiences. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, Article ID 789663.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>An Internet Based Intervention for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Qualitative Study of Participants Experiences
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2021 (English)In: Frontiers in Psychiatry, E-ISSN 1664-0640, Vol. 12, article id 789663Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: Adults with autism spectrum disorder face several barriers to accessing evidence-based care, including difficulties in communicating needs, social anxiety or in traveling to a health care unit. In recent years, several forms of internet-based treatments have shown to be effective for a variety of psychiatric conditions. Internet-based treatment alternatives allow convenient and flexible formats, and therefore have the potential to increase access to health care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. However, knowledge about how internet-based treatment features may suit the needs of individuals with autism is limited. The aim of this study was to explore the participant experiences of an internet-based intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder. The primary focus of the investigation was on autism-specific needs in relation to the features unique to the online format.

Methods: In this qualitative study, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 14 participants who had completed a text-based internet-based intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder. We used an inductive approach and analyzed the data using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Five main categories were identified: (1) implications of the online format, (2) the fixed non-individualized model, (3) therapist interaction, (4) interacting with other participants, and (5) making use of the treatment content. Overall, participants appreciated the availability and that they could work on their treatment independent of time or location. Among those participating in group-based chat-sessions with the other participants, it was considered a generally positive experience. Furthermore, most participants felt safe and relaxed in relation to the therapist and appreciated the text-based format. However, several participants felt that the format and content of the treatment was not sufficiently adapted to their individual life situation.

Conclusion: In conclusion, this internet-based treatment constitutes an accessible and energy-saving treatment alternative for adults with autism. Further, integrating group-based components seems feasible in an otherwise individual internet-based treatment for individuals with autism. However, group-based components do require a clear purpose and rationale. Future studies should develop and evaluate treatment adaptations tailored to individual needs.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Frontiers Media S.A., 2021
Keywords
Autism spectrum disorder, cognitive behavioral treatment, content analysis, interview, patient experience
National Category
Psychiatry
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-96347 (URN)10.3389/fpsyt.2021.789663 (DOI)000743748000001 ()35002808 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85122303781 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-01-11 Created: 2022-01-11 Last updated: 2025-01-28Bibliographically approved
Giles, C. & Özdemir, M. (2021). Resilience Among Newly Arrived Refugee Youth in Sweden: A Qualitative Study of Strengths and Resources During the Resettlement Process. In: EADP 2021: Abstract Booklet. Paper presented at European Association for Developmental Psychology Summer Tour (EADP 2021), University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria, September 3, 2021 (pp. 59-59). University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Resilience Among Newly Arrived Refugee Youth in Sweden: A Qualitative Study of Strengths and Resources During the Resettlement Process
2021 (English)In: EADP 2021: Abstract Booklet, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria , 2021, p. 59-59Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

There are currently around 13 million refugees worldwide under the age of 18. In the past decade, over half a million people have sought asylum in Sweden, and around 1% of the population consists of youth who were granted asylum as minors during this time. It is thought that around one in five refugee youth globally suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, one in six from depression and one in seven from anxiety disorders. Alt-hough most studies have focused on psychological suffering and mental health problems related to forced migration, a growing number have high-lighted the enormous strengths and resilience among this group. These characteristics are likely to mitigate some negative experiences during the resettlement process, enabling youths’ adjustment in the host soci-ety. This study therefore aimed to examine the individual strengths and resources of newly arrived refugee youth living in Sweden. Semi-struc-tured interviews were conducted with 29 Somali, Arabic and Kurdish speaking refugee youth (13-17 years, 13 female) who had been residing in Sweden for a maximum of 6 years. Preliminary analyses of interviews with Somali youth revealed two overarching themes: perseverance in dealing with the language barrier, and an unwavering dedication to edu-cation. Resources in the youth’s narratives include strong family and cultural connections and experiencing a benevolent host society. Per-sonal strengths include cognitive flexibility, assertiveness, and taking responsibility. Continued analysis will provide further insight into varia-tions based on culture and gender. The findings may have practical im-plications for building interventions to promote resilience among refugee youth.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, 2021
National Category
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-95021 (URN)
Conference
European Association for Developmental Psychology Summer Tour (EADP 2021), University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria, September 3, 2021
Available from: 2021-10-14 Created: 2021-10-14 Last updated: 2021-10-14Bibliographically approved
Bayram Özdemir, S., Giles, C. & Özdemir, M. (2021). Why Do Immigrant and Swedish Adolescents Engage in Ethnic Victimization? Common and Distinct Underlying Factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(11), 2236-2248
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Why Do Immigrant and Swedish Adolescents Engage in Ethnic Victimization? Common and Distinct Underlying Factors
2021 (English)In: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, ISSN 0047-2891, E-ISSN 1573-6601, Vol. 50, no 11, p. 2236-2248Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Youth of immigrant background are at risk of experiencing victimization due to their ethnic or cultural background. However, limited knowledge is available regarding why youth victimize their immigrant peers, and whether the factors associated with engagement in ethnic victimization vary across adolescents of different background. To address this gap in knowledge, the present study aimed to elucidate the common or differential factors associated with engagement in ethnic victimization among immigrant and native youth. The analytical sample included seventh grade students residing in Sweden from 55 classrooms (N = 963, Mage = 13.11, SD = 0.41; 46% girls; 38% youth of immigrant background). The results showed that being morally disengaged and engaging in general victimization are the common denominators of engagement in ethnic victimization for immigrant and Swedish youth. Low levels of positive attitudes toward immigrants provide a foundation for ethnic victimization among Swedish youth, but not youth of immigrant background. Classroom ethnic composition was not significantly related to engagement in ethnic victimization in either group. Predictors of engagement in ethnic victimization seem to have similarities and differences among immigrant and Swedish youth. The factors involved require further attention in developing strategies to combat bias-based hostile behaviors in diverse school settings.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Plenum Publishing, 2021
National Category
International Migration and Ethnic Relations
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-93824 (URN)10.1007/s10964-021-01485-1 (DOI)000686999900001 ()34417965 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85113148980 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2015-01057
Note

Funding agency:

Örebro University

Available from: 2021-08-23 Created: 2021-08-23 Last updated: 2022-01-18Bibliographically approved
Bayram Özdemir, S., Giles, C. & Özdemir, M. (2020). Differences and Similarities between Perpetrators of Ethnic and Non-Ethnicity-Based Victimization. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(9), 1805-1820
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Differences and Similarities between Perpetrators of Ethnic and Non-Ethnicity-Based Victimization
2020 (English)In: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, ISSN 0047-2891, E-ISSN 1573-6601, Vol. 49, no 9, p. 1805-1820Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2020
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-82847 (URN)10.1007/s10964-020-01271-5 (DOI)000543273100002 ()32588287 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85086868018 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2015-01057
Available from: 2020-06-09 Created: 2020-06-09 Last updated: 2021-08-24Bibliographically approved
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Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-4211-0120

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