Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine

This article examines the cultural, educational and mental health consequences of large-scale internal displacement for children and adolescents from the Donbas to other parts of Ukraine. The research findings and methodological innovations of the study are discussed in the context of forced migrati...

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Main Authors: Thompson, I, Nurse, L, Fazel, M
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis 2023
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author Thompson, I
Nurse, L
Fazel, M
author_facet Thompson, I
Nurse, L
Fazel, M
author_sort Thompson, I
collection OXFORD
description This article examines the cultural, educational and mental health consequences of large-scale internal displacement for children and adolescents from the Donbas to other parts of Ukraine. The research findings and methodological innovations of the study are discussed in the context of forced migration and displacement caused by the previous (2014) armed conflict in East Ukraine and Donbas with additional challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our data collection was halted by the military action in Ukraine that started in February 2022 that has caused another wave of forced migration. We reflect on the experience gained from conducting research on sensitive topics of displacement using online methods in the environment of restricted access to schools and adolescents. The adolescents who were interviewed described their experiences of displacement, which for some had taken place nearly eight years before. Trauma from conflict and displacement can have mental health, educational and social consequences for displaced adolescents. These displaced young people and their families face, as internally displaced populations, a double-edged sword in their relationship with their new contexts. They often have numerous challenges in their settling in a new location and public sphere given the existing ethnic, cultural and language diversity of Ukraine and yet have the advantage of being able to adopt and adapt to their new socio-cultural contexts relatively quickly and minimise their pre-migration identities, if they so wish.
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spelling oxford-uuid:ebe8bd09-984b-4df7-be76-a4e76ce02f152023-09-27T10:27:00ZTensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in UkraineJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:ebe8bd09-984b-4df7-be76-a4e76ce02f15EnglishSymplectic ElementsTaylor & Francis 2023Thompson, INurse, LFazel, MThis article examines the cultural, educational and mental health consequences of large-scale internal displacement for children and adolescents from the Donbas to other parts of Ukraine. The research findings and methodological innovations of the study are discussed in the context of forced migration and displacement caused by the previous (2014) armed conflict in East Ukraine and Donbas with additional challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our data collection was halted by the military action in Ukraine that started in February 2022 that has caused another wave of forced migration. We reflect on the experience gained from conducting research on sensitive topics of displacement using online methods in the environment of restricted access to schools and adolescents. The adolescents who were interviewed described their experiences of displacement, which for some had taken place nearly eight years before. Trauma from conflict and displacement can have mental health, educational and social consequences for displaced adolescents. These displaced young people and their families face, as internally displaced populations, a double-edged sword in their relationship with their new contexts. They often have numerous challenges in their settling in a new location and public sphere given the existing ethnic, cultural and language diversity of Ukraine and yet have the advantage of being able to adopt and adapt to their new socio-cultural contexts relatively quickly and minimise their pre-migration identities, if they so wish.
spellingShingle Thompson, I
Nurse, L
Fazel, M
Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine
title Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine
title_full Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine
title_fullStr Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine
title_full_unstemmed Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine
title_short Tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in Ukraine
title_sort tensions in cultural identity and sense of belonging for internally displaced adolescents in ukraine
work_keys_str_mv AT thompsoni tensionsinculturalidentityandsenseofbelongingforinternallydisplacedadolescentsinukraine
AT nursel tensionsinculturalidentityandsenseofbelongingforinternallydisplacedadolescentsinukraine
AT fazelm tensionsinculturalidentityandsenseofbelongingforinternallydisplacedadolescentsinukraine