Mentoring for Improving the Self-Esteem, Resilience, and Hope of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area

Xavier Alarcón, Magdalena Bobowik and Òscar Prieto-Flores
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Xavier Alarcón: School of Education and Psychology, University of Girona, Plaça Sant Domènec, 9, 17071 Girona, Spain
Magdalena Bobowik: Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
Òscar Prieto-Flores: School of Education and Psychology, University of Girona, Plaça Sant Domènec, 9, 17071 Girona, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-25

Abstract: In the last few years, the number of unaccompanied youths arriving in Europe has increased steadily. During their settlement in host countries, they are exposed to a great variety of vulnerabilities, which have an impact on their mental health. This research examines the effects of participation in a mentoring programme on the psychological and educational outcomes among unaccompanied migrant youths who live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. Data in this mixed-methods study were obtained from 44 surveys with mentored (treatment group) and non-mentored (control group) male youths who had recently turned 18, as well as through thirty semi-structured interviews with mentored youths, their adult mentors, and non-mentored youths. Our findings indicated that participation in the mentoring programme improved the mentored youths’ self-esteem, resilience, and hope, as well as their desired or expected educational outcomes in this new context. We conclude that well-targeted and problem-specific mentoring programmes have positive and marked effects on unaccompanied migrant youths’ mental health. The social and political implications of these outcomes are also discussed, providing information on how interventions can offer effective networks of support for the settlement and social inclusion of unaccompanied migrant youths.

Keywords: unaccompanied; migrant youth; mental health; mentoring; resilience; mixed methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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