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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Hum. Dyn.
Sec. Migration and Society
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fhumd.2024.1411378

Challenges for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Minors in Swedish Compulsory Institutional Care

Provisionally accepted
Isabelle Stjerna Doohan Isabelle Stjerna Doohan 1*Mehdi Ghazinour Mehdi Ghazinour 2Malin Eriksson Malin Eriksson 1Mojgan Padyab Mojgan Padyab 1Johanna Sundqvist Johanna Sundqvist 1
  • 1 Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
  • 2 Södertörn University, Huddinge, Stockholm County, Sweden

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This qualitative thematic study aimed to examine the placement of unaccompanied asylumseeking minors in compulsory institutional care in Sweden, to expand knowledge regarding their care and treatment. The dataset comprised official documents and anonymized journal entries documents from personnel detailing the experiences of twenty-five unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in compulsory institutional care organized by the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care in 2015. The study identified three main themes: traumatic life events and mental health, alignment between needs, goals, and treatment, and language difficulties and autonomy. The findings revealed a high prevalence of severe traumatic experiences among the asylum-seeking minors, with half having endured significant psychological and physical trauma. Mental health issues were inconsistently addressed, and prior traumas were often overlooked in care planning. The majority exhibited various mental health problems, underscoring the need for tailored interventions. The study highlights challenges in aligning unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors' individual needs, treatment goals, and provided care. Language barriers emerged as a critical concern, impeding effective communication and treatmentautonomy. Approximately 80% of the asylum-seeking minors experienced difficulties in understanding and expressing themselves in Swedish. The limited use of professional interpreters further exacerbated this issue. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions to better support unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors within compulsory institutional settings.

    Keywords: unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors, compulsory institutional care, immigration and minority issues, Sweden, Language barrier, Trauma-informed care, Social research, Social Work

    Received: 02 Apr 2024; Accepted: 25 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Stjerna Doohan, Ghazinour, Eriksson, Padyab and Sundqvist. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Isabelle Stjerna Doohan, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.