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Child and adolescent refugees ,
BAMF Brief Analysis 5|2019 is concerned with the everyday lives of refugee children, adolescents and their families in Germany
By reference to the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees, various aspects of minor refugees' everyday lives and integration are examined. This provides insights into matters such as how and with whom minor refugees and their families are living in Germany, with whom adolescents spend their free time, how good their command of German is and whether they feel welcome in Germany.
The majority of children live with (parts of) their nuclear family
On average, the children in the families were living together with one or two brothers and sisters and one or both parents. At the time of the survey, three quarters of the refugee families were already living in private accommodation, which generally offers the children more space for themselves than communal accommodation. The children living in private accommodation stated more frequently that they had a room or a desk of their own.
Everyday life as experienced by minors: girls and older adolescents form a special group
The majority of the children and adolescents reported that they are integrated into society:
- They rated their command of German as good or very good (86 per cent).
- 75 per cent of the interviewed children and adolescents stated that they spend their free time with Germans daily, several times a week or every week.
- Although two thirds stated that they (very) often missed their countries of origin, almost all of them could imagine remaining in Germany (95 per cent).
Contact
A look at the findings as a whole reveals that girls and older adolescents (in the age group between 16 and 17) differ from the other interviewees: Although both groups rated their command of German as particularly good, they were most likely to state that they had no contact with Germans in their free time. Interviewed girls also felt less welcome over the course of time. In addition, older adolescents of both sexes tended to be less satisfied with their lives. This could be attributable to the fact that they have less opportunity for contact, for reasons relating to their age and sex: Older adolescents are less likely to still be attending school and are generally more involved in supporting their parents. This restricts the opportunities for making contact with peers. In addition, a substantial proportion of refugee families come from cultures in which religious and cultural influences give rise to different norms and behaviour between the sexes compared to what is customary in Germany. This may impose limits on the effectiveness of mixed-sex leisure facilities and opportunities in ensuring the social integration of girl refugees.
Author of the Brief Analysis: Cristina de Paiva Lareiro