‘If we want, they help us in any way’: how ‘unaccompanied refugee minors’ experience mentoring relationships.

Year Published:

Abstract

Austria – How do these young people, most of them seeking asylum, represent relationships in a mentorship programme (CBO run, connects trained adult volunteers with young people)? How they perceive their relationships and make sense of mentoring. Two multilingual group interviews with young people who participated in a pilot programme providing ‘godparents for URMs’. Most had already been in the country for a year or longer in various camps, had gone through a high number of institutional transitions and geographical moves in Austria. All of the informants were male (group interview 1: N = 10; group interview 2: N = 8); over 14; from Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia, and none lived on their own at the time. Some were enrolled in regular secondary school. Almost all interviewees were still claiming asylum. A ‘negative’ response was most likely at that time and place, particularly for those officially holding Afghan nationality. We picked those who had at least two months’ experience with their mentor to talk about notable episodes and to comment on the usability, value and limits of their mentorships.

Citation

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What is the impact of mentoring on social-emotional and academic outcomes of youth from immigrant and refugee families?

This evidence summary, authored by Switchboard, provides an insightful overview of the current landscape of research on mentoring, both formal and informal, and its impact on the social-emotional well-being and academic success of youth from immigrant and refugee families in the United States. There is moderate to strong evidence that mentoring enhances educational aspirations. A […]

About this study

AGE: Adolescents and/or Youth

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: Positive impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Paid

GENDER: Male

HOST COUNTRY: Austria

HOST COUNTRY INCOME: High

OUTCOME AREA: Youth Mentoring

POPULATION: Unaccompanied Minors

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): Multiple Regions

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Suggestive

TYPE OF STUDY: Suggestive evidence

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2021

More STUDIES