Immigrant Adolescents, A Very Common Reality
Migration generates great stress on those who star in it, no matter how old they are. However, young people are a very vulnerable group in this situation. In the next article, we will talk about immigrant teens, something that happens a lot these days.
Immigrant adolescents: identity problems
When a family decides for different reasons – such as unemployment or war – to go live in another country, it ‘carries’ with it a culture, a language and traditions that are perhaps very different from those of the place where they arrive.
Of course, they also receive the same from their new home. Depending on your age, this change can have consequences that, in many cases, last throughout life.
There is not much talk about immigrant adolescents, as the focus is often on babies and children. However, at this crucial stage of our existence, any trauma, alteration or stress has its effects in the short, medium and long term.
What is life like for immigrant adolescents?
Sometimes young people who migrate join others with the same past as them, since they share many experiences and feelings. However, in other cases, adolescents have to share their day to day with colleagues who were born in that country that is now their home.
When the latter happens, what is known as ‘deculturation and crisis in the construction of identity’ occurs. This concept means that everything that has been learned during childhood is banished; Now that you are building your personality for adult life, you must think and act like the people in the host country do.
All changes have their consequences; It is very important that parents or relatives are close during the migration process in an adolescent. In this stage that defines us as people, a disorder as deep as leaving home, friends and the country can lead to instability that is difficult to control. This can be reflected in their behavior and academic performance.
In itself, there are many tensions that a young person must overcome in terms of hormonal or growth changes. If we add to that the traumatic situation of having to move to another place, we can understand why an adolescent who migrates can become ‘impossible to educate’.
Immigrant teens: how to help them
If your family has made the decision to emigrate, it is very important that you help your children to cope with these changes; they are too many and too abrupt. Teens suffer a lot from moving, being separated from their friends, going to another school, or adjusting to a new neighborhood.
Symptoms in young people can be diverse, such as not having good grades in school, not getting along with their peers or treating their parents badly.
Of course, it could be said that this happens to any teenager due to the uniqueness of that stage, but the truth is that if a change of residence is also added to the equation, it is necessary for parents to take action on the matter.
How to help a foreign teenager?
It is essential to accompany them through the changes in the best possible way. Communication is the foundation, even when they don’t want to talk. Ask them how they feel, what they miss about their old life, or what bothers them in particular about their new home.
If it is not possible to return for a while, today technology can help a lot to reduce distances and be connected with those we have left in our country or city of origin. Make use of this tool to alleviate melancholy.
Another way to give them a hand is to find membership groups in which young people feel happy and accompanied. It can be, for example, moving to a neighborhood where there are other families who also come from abroad, or even who speak the same language.
Finally, in some cases, it is also recommended that the adolescent go to therapy or professional help. A psychologist can be a more than important help for a young man trying to shape his destiny and prepare for the future in a different place.
