Abstract
Objective
To gain a qualitative understanding of belonging as reflected in the experience of newly resettled young people from refugee backgrounds. Drawing upon a narrative perspective premised on a postmodern social constructivist model, the study is based on the understanding that belonging is a constructed experience, with multiple possibilities of the nature of belonging.
Methods
Interviews were conducted with 30 students and their parents using a digital storytelling research approach. The interview data was transcribed and explicated using a thematic narrative analyses process, aiming at explicating the participants’ experience of belonging. Parent data was used to supplement students’ accounts.
Results
Five themes emerged and are explicated: connection to a larger entity; experience of immersion; experience of connection (and disconnection); sense of identity; and instrumental outcomes.
Conclusions
A sense of belonging emerged as a multi-faceted and nuanced experience, negotiated in a social space by refugee youth in ways that best enable them to make sense of their experiences. Youth from refugee backgrounds seek coherence in their narratives of belonging, which are characterised as being highly relational. From a narrative co-constructivist perspective, narrations of belonging reflect the roles of both youth and their significant others in a process of collaborative meaning making. The findings may inform future research targeting refugee youth resettlement and adaptation wellbeing.
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Acknowledgements
Data from the current study was obtained from a larger research project “Towards inclusive classrooms: building acculturation and settlement for refugee and migrant students” funded by a Horizon Grant, and at the Queensland University of Technology (Principal investigators Robert Schweitzer, Nigar Khawaja, and Donna Hancox). We would also like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in reviewing the paper: Sasha Mackay, Jing Yi Hon, Kathleen Ong, Melissa Tan, and Raymond Choo.
Author Contributions
SC: was primarily responsible for the transcription and explication of the data, and wrote the paper. RDS designed the study, oversaw the analysis, and collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript.
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Ethics approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Queensland University of Technology (Ethics approval no. 1700000851). Parents or legal guardians gave their informed consent for the adolescents to participate and all adolescents assented. Parents provided informed consent for their participation.
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Chen, S., Schweitzer, R.D. The Experience of Belonging in Youth from Refugee Backgrounds: A Narrative Perspective. J Child Fam Stud 28, 1977–1990 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01425-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01425-5