Migrant and asylum-seeker children returned to Kosovo and Albania: predictive factors for social–emotional wellbeing after return

The return of rejected asylum seekers has a high priority on the national agendas of European States. In order to make well-informed asylum decisions involving children, knowledge of how asylum-seeker children fare after their return to their countries of origin is needed. This study aims to gain knowledge about the child-rearing environment and the social–emotional wellbeing of migrant children who have returned to Kosovo and Albania after a stay in a European host country. Based on a sample of 106 returned families, the study investigated the predictive factors for children’s social–emotional wellbeing using regression analyses. The findings show that procedural characteristics and ethnicity predict wellbeing, mediated through the quality of the child-rearing environment. The most vulnerable children did not have a stable resident status in the host country, belonged to a minority ethnic group and were older adolescents. The findings indicate that the wellbeing of returned children is not only dependent on conditions after repatriation, but also on the conditions which the families left in the host country. To enable sustainable return in a child’s best interests, the needs of vulnerable families and children should be thoroughly assessed prior to return, and reintegration support should be tailored to their situation.     

Mental Health and Coping Patterns in Jewish Gay Men in Israel: The Role of Dual Identity Conflict,Religious Identity,and Partnership Status

This study examined the effects of dual-identity conflict, religious identity (religious/spiritual vs. sexual), and partnership status on the coping strategies and mental health of gay Jewish men in modern Israeli society. Participants were 73 religious and 71 secular gay men recruited via e-mail, social networking sites, and online resources targeting sexual minority men. Participants were assessed via measures of identity conflict, mental health, and coping strategies. Jewish gay men who reported more severe identity conflict also reported using less problem-focused and avoidance coping and more emotion-focused coping strategies and reported poorer mental health than their less identity-conflicted counterparts. Furthermore, gay men who self-identified as religious reported poorer mental health as well as less problem-focused coping and more emotion-focused coping compared to secular men. Religious gay men in romantic relationships reported lower intensities of dual-identity conflict and better mental health compared to their nonpartnered counterparts.