This phenomenological study explores the mental health problems of asylum- seeking children in Sweden and highlights possible ways of meeting their needs. Open interviews with 13 clinically experienced psychologists were conducted.The results of the analysis suggest that experiences of trauma and separation, the child's developmental level, parental functioning and family dynamics contribute to the mental health problems of asylum- seeking children. When meeting these children the psychologists continuously face ethical dilemmas since the asylum-seeking process seems to aggravate the problems as well as complicate the use of traditional interventions. Promoting structure and activity, normalizing symptoms, educating about trauma and crisis, sharing and accepting anxieties and sometimes thoroughly working through traumatic experiences are treatment strategies found clinically useful. Systematic follow-up studies are needed to decide the effects of these interventions..

The aim of this study was to describe and to analyze needs and social efforts concerning unaccompanied/separated Asylum-seeking children. The responsibility for the reception of this target group was transferred on July 1, 2006 from the Swedish Migration Board to the municipalities that sign an agreement with the Swedish Migration Board. Eight qualitative interviews were carried out with representatives for transit-residents and assigned municipalities in Skåne. Our main questions were: How has the reception of unaccompanied/separated Asylum-seeking children been planned, how do the municipalities and the transit-residents consider their needs and what is the level of qualifications and competence within the municipalities in order to work with unaccompanied/separated Asylum-seeking children on the basis of social efforts? We chose to clarify our findings on the basis of the attachment theory, which is applicable during the critical emancipation phase that the vast majority of the unaccompanied/separated Asylum-seeking children find themselves in.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how the Swedish authorities comply with international law by studying the protection of Asylum-seeking children that are apprehended by Swedish authorities according to the legislation of LVU because of abuse or neglect and thereafter are deported together with their parents. The aim of this thesis is to find out if Swedish legislation and praxis is consistent with international law through the Convention on the Rights of the Child and EKMR. Would it be possible to increase the protection of these children through incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Swedish law, through a wider interpretation of the principle of non-refoulement or through more morality in the law? The thesis has been conducted as a literature study where the right-dogmatic method has been used to compare Swedish and international law. The theories by Dworkin about morality and law have been compared to Peczeniks right-dogmatic theories.The review shows that Swedish authorities are infringing article 2, 3, 12 and 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, when it comes to the protection of Asylum-seeking children. The best way to increase the protection is to incorporate the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Swedish law.

The aim of this study was to examine how social workers relate to unaccompanied Asylum-seeking children, regarding their cultural background and potential social issues. In order to achieve a more profound and comprehensive view of the social workers views regarding the separated children, we selected to execute semi structured interviews with social workers. These interviews were aimed at those social workers who performed assessments and investigations concerning unaccompanied children. We completed nine interviews which we recorded and transcribed in a strict manor. When we analyzed the empirical material, certain themes where identified as more protuberant and thus we our selection was based on what we regarded as the most relevant topics, in accordance to the aim of the study.

The aim of this study is to examine which factors in the receiving-country that have had an influence on three now adult unaccompanied refugee children. The method used in the study is qualitative interviews with the three above-mentioned participants. The results show that some factors are perceived as helpful, having a positive influence on the participants life while other factors are perceived as worsening, having a negative influence on their life. Depending on the context some factors such as age, the Swedish language and housing arrangements have had both positive and negative influences on their life. Positive factors are among other things: access to good treatment and support, help with processing trauma and bad mental health, help with understanding coherence, access to a social network, family reunification, resilience and other internal factors.

Purpose: The purpose of the study reported in this thesis is to addto the knowledge concerning what public librarians do to meet theneeds of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors, thereby helpingthem to develop and establish themselves in a new environment.What tasks, activities and tools do the librarians have at theirdisposal? What problems do they encounter? What values, normsand attitudes guide their work? Method: The thoughts andexperiences of six public librarians have been captured throughqualitative semi-structured interviews, the result of which has beenthematically analysed using notions of social capital and socialexclusion. Findings: Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors facea number of challenges which the public library with its librarians,collections and various activities can assist in coping with byproviding the children with opportunities to increase their socialcapital and decrease the risk of social exclusion. Researchlimitations: It has for several reasons proven difficult to studyunaccompanied Asylum-seeking children as a distinct group, whichis why this study also uses material that deals with refugees as awhole. A significant amount of the latter are undeniablyunaccompanied minors, an especially exposed and vulnerable typeof refugees.

The aim of the study was to examine collaboration and professional perspectives on the best interest of the child in regards to working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Firstly, our result show that counselling is available for the unaccompanied children from case workers, staff, school counsellors and emergency psychiatric care. All of the participants in this study describe the need for long-term counselling for unaccompanied children, however, providing the long-term counselling is not the primary purpose of the organisations in question. Therefore an additional service-provider working with counselling is a necessity. Secondly, the study explores the participants? professional perspectives on the best interest of the child.

 The 1st of July 2006 Sweden made a change of authorities in the system concerning the reception of separated asylum seeking children. Prior to the change, the Swedish Board of Migration was held completely responsible for the reception of these children, who arrives in Sweden without their parents or any other relatives to care for them. Since the alteration of the law (1994:137) the responsibility for the housing of these children now lies within the Swedish municipalities, while the Board of Migration still handles their legal commissions. The change was intended to fundamentally improve the conditions under which these children were taken care of. However the implementation took a severe wrong turn when the municipalities weren't prepared for their new responsibilities and the immediate result was alarming. This qualitative study is based upon interviews with the people responsible for the reception of the separated asylum seeking children in the municipalities of Kronobergs County, as well as one of the two people in charge of the new system at the Swedish Board of Migration.

The purpose of this study is to describe and understand how the principle of the child?s best interest in the asylum process for families with children is interpreted and implemented in practice by the asylum bureaucrats at the Swedish Migration Agency. Our questions are:?How is the best interest of the child in families with children interpreted by the asylum bureaucrats at the Swedish Migration Agency??"How are asylum bureaucrats at the Swedish Migration Agency reasoning about the implementation in practice of the child's best interest in families with children?The essay rests upon semi-structured interviews with eight asylum bureaucrats at three different asylum units. The interviews are based on an interview guide together with a vignette, which purpose was to see how the interviewees are implementing the best interest of the child in a specific case of a potential application.

The purpose of the essay is to examine the views on sexuality that guide the Swedish Migration board and court?s judgments and decisions in asylum cases. The essay investigates seven cases from the Swedish Migration court regarding asylum seekers from seven different countries seeking protection in Sweden due to their sexuality and/or gender identity. By applying discourse analysis, along with the theoretical perspectives of Judith Butler and the postcolonial critique of Chandra Talpade Mohanty, the essay discuss what kind of criteria and/or practice is demanded of the asylum seekers to be rendered as trustworthy. The essay concludes that the asylum seekers are considered untrustworthy by the migration authorities when not acting according to a (hetero)normative sexuality.

Studiens syfte var att klargöra och redovisa för de främjande och försämrande faktorer som är betydelsefulla för asylsökande barns psykosociala välmående. Enligt vår förförståelse som vi erhållit genom arbetslivserfarenhet och utbildning lever de asylsökande barnen under svåra omständigheter och vi ansåg det viktigt att undersöka de påverkande faktorerna. Den metod som användes var en kunskapsöversikt som tolkades hermeneutiskt. Kunskapsöversikten baserades på 10 primärstudier och resultaten visade på följande främjande faktorer; skola, föräldrar/familj, adekvat information gällande beslutsprocessen, en väl fungerande barnpsykiatrisk vård, sociala nätverk och fritidsaktiviteter. De försämrande faktorerna var; bristfällig information och lång väntan under asylprocessen, föräldrars ohälsa, okunskap hos professionella om barnens lagstadgade rättigheter samt osäkra boendevillkor.

Based on the Migration Board's statistics report, the number of children that has gone missing within a time interval of 4 years (2010-2014) comprises 1331 children in total, of whom 146 are girls and 1185 are boys. A rising interest about what has happened to those children created a fundamental platform for this thesis. By reading Åkerman?s report from 2012, and the book De förlorade barnen: en rapport by Mikkelsen and Wagner (2013) the curiosity grew deeper. The research questions that were established were divided into three parts.

The aim with this study is to examine and analyze how the employees at two residential care homes for unaccompanied refugee children work with the children during their pending decision for asylum in Sweden. The purpose is to gain insight into the employees? daily work with the target audience and how they handle decisions with the children. The method to collect data is to carry 6 interviews with the employees at the residential care home. The interviews were semi-structured with purpose of letting the interviewee lead the content of the interview.

This thesis has the purpose of developing a normative theoretical framework based on different political philosophers and scientists view on deliberative democratic theory, discourse ethics and a modified norm of citizenship. This framework is supposed to contain the ideal communicative situation for people seeking asylum. Hence, the thesis argues that political influence is best practised through communicative rights, and that people seeking asylum are in title to such rights. We conclude that the standards needed to be met in order to reach the ideal are: translators, translated information, arenas for- or channels of communication, language education, and deliberative education. Once the framework is established we focus our interest on the Swedish state.

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study has been to analyse and understand the effects of heteronormative structures in the Swedish asylum process. Homosexual refugees, seeking asylum in Sweden, is in focus when proceeding an analysis about these social structures and normative phenomena. The main discourse, being handled in this study, is between homosexuality and heterosexuality. However, central findings in this study consists of how different approaches, such as gender based identities as well as sexual preferences and ethnic background, combined is influencing the asylum process and the treatment of the asylum seekers.The analysis is based upon legal material, as well as the guidelines and work ethics of the Migrationsverket, which is being compared with theoretical approaches on heteronormativity and structural hierarchy. To achieve a wider understanding of the area and to gain more information, we have also performed interviews with relevant sources.Key-words: Heteronormativity, asylum seekers, homosexuality, power structuresSara Haugbak & Jenny Thomsen, Sociology C, University of Växjö, Sweden.