School-based psychosocial care for refugee and migrant young people: A mixed-method exploration of the role of schools and school-based psychosocial interventions in shaping well-being and relational processes of post-trauma reconstruction.

European host societies face the challenge of supporting the well-being and mental health of refugee and migrant youth. With a growing number of studies describing the at-risk mental health status of young refugees and migrants and the role of host societal and relational dynamics in their mental health, schools and school-based psychosocial interventions are increasingly put forward to promote young refugees’ and migrants’ well-being and mental health. In this context and answering distinct gaps in existing literature, this PhD aims to further scholarly understanding of the mental health needs of refugee and migrant young people in Europe, and of the role of schools and school-based psychosocial interventions in affording and mobilizing school-based relations that can support their well-being and recovery in resettlement.

Chapter 1 concerns the comparative study of the mental health and well-being of a large sample of young refugees (n = 883) and migrants (n = 483) in secondary schools in five European countries. Its main findings indicate high levels of post-traumatic stress in both refugees and migrants and point to the detrimental impact of experiences of discrimination on their mental health and well-being.

Chapter 2 engages in a qualitative exploration of the perspectives of refugee and migrant young people (N = 163) on the role of schools in shaping belonging and well-being in resettlement. Its findings foremost suggest that, in school, young people meet opportunities and barriers in their negotiating of belonging that takes shape at the intersection of family, transnational,  and host society relations and carries multilayered meaning in their migration histories.

Chapter 3 presents an examination of two school-based psychosocial interventions’ effectiveness in fostering the mental health and social relations of 558 young refugees and migrants in four European countries. Its findings highlight one intervention’s potential to promote family and peer support and the well-being and mental health of young people with the highest levels of resilience at baseline.

Chapter 4 describes an empirical exploration of school-based relational processes of post-trauma reconstruction in two school-based psychosocial interventions implemented in ten Belgian schools. Its findings provide a preliminary description of the ways in which school-based relations might shape the restorationw of safety, meaning, and connectedness in school-based psychosocial intervention.

The dissertation concludes with an integrative discussion that reflects on the PhD’s main empirical contributions, its shortcomings, perspectives for future research, and the value of ethical methodological reflection on the practice of doing research with refugee and migrant young people within school settings.