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Developing a stable adult identity is a key process during youth, which unfolds in ongoing interaction between the individual and their environment. For immigrant youth, this process also includes the formation of an ethnic identity, which is complicated by potential differences between the young person's culture of origin and the dominant culture. But we currently know little about the ethnic and self-identification of White immigrant youth in new immigrant destinations in the United States. The case of Bosnian second-generation youth in St. Louis addresses this gap in the literature on ethnic identity and immigrant incorporation. The analysis shows considerable context-specific variation in how Bosnian youth self-identify. The ability to pass as members of the dominant racial group also indicates that the ethnic boundary between Bosnian youth and native St. Louisians is rooted in a set of shared histories and experiences and a resulting sense of knowing that governs within and between group interactions. The discussion section arrays implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Syrian refugee crisis posed enormous challenges for the child welfare system and immigration authorities in Germany. Based on qualitative interviews and publicly available data, this paper explores the responses of frontline workers to the surge in unaccompanied refugee minors (UAMs) during the crisis and how their actions were experienced by UAMs. Results illustrate how frontline coping strategies created effective barriers to UAMs being united with their families. The findings raise questions about the relationship between ambiguous policy goals, frontline practice and formal legislation in the context of the right to asylum and the best interests of the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using qualitative interviews, this paper explores the early housing and neighborhood experiences of Syrian refugee youth in St. Louis. The analysis shows how the respondents and their families ended up in poor quality housing in high poverty neighborhoods which had a profound impact on their sense of safety and interactions with their environments. Families who managed to move to better neighborhoods received support from former refugees or non-refugee volunteers. The findings raise important questions for future research and outline implications for policymakers interested in attracting and maintaining refugees in post-industrial cities like St. Louis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fathers are important influences for the healthy development during the transition to adulthood of their children. Despite the theoretical acknowledgement of the reciprocal nature of the father–child relationship, we currently know very little about the experience of being fathered, particularly of immigrant male youth. Drawing on qualitative data from a study of Mexican-origin male youth in Chicago, this article documents the respondents' experiences of their fathers as providers, role models and authority figures. The analysis reveals however, that the respondents experienced these rather traditional father roles in different ways, ranging from extreme violence and neglect to dedication and sacrifice, which in turn, led to rejection, modification, or emulation in their own conceptions of fatherhood. The findings urge researchers to examine the long-term effects of being fathered among immigrant youth and more specifically, how the experience of being fathered leads to different or similar patterns of fathering behavior later in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the response of the child welfare system in Germany to the recent refugee crisis. Drawing on administrative data and qualitative interviews with administrators, front-line workers and refugee youth in Nuremberg, the article provides a contextualized account of how the crisis led to the collapse of established bureaucratic procedures, new forms of interagency collaboration and a flexible distribution of responsibilities and tasks. Combining a street-level bureaucracy (SLB) perspective with insights from the literature on crisis and policy change, the analysis shows how the responses of front-line workers effectively altered the content of services, introduced new actors and expanded the professional capacity of the local child welfare system. On a broader level, the findings indicate that front-line practice is not merely guided by policy mandates, but also responds to situational and institutional circumstances. For the child welfare system in Nuremberg, the findings raise important questions about the extent to which aspects of the crisis response will remain a part of the service delivery process moving forward, and whether the recent experience will better prepare them for future crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is continuing interest in the relationship between knowledge and practice in social work. Overly narrow conceptualizations of the EBP model deepened the gap between practice knowledge and formal research evidence in the profession. While much has been written about the dissemination and adaptation of research findings to practice, much less is known about the actual sources of knowledge social workers draw on in their practice. This paper reports findings from an exploratory survey about the sources and content of knowledge that changed professional practice among social work field instructors (n=250) in St. Louis. An analysis of open-ended responses revealed that coworkers and continuing education programs are the most important sources for knowledge and information that influence practice. While academic journals are perceived by practitioners to be relatively unimportant sources for such knowledge, research findings on the background and effectiveness of interventions, make up the primary content that appears to affect social work practice. The findings suggest that formal research knowledge is important but that it is primarily accessed through professional networks and training programs instead of directly from peer-reviewed journals. Social media platforms seemed to be insignificant sources for professional knowledge. These insights raise important questions about how social workers use social media and the role of occupational networks and associations for the dissemination of research findings. Finally, our findings suggest that agencies and researchers think more purposefully about the infusion of knowledge into practice through opportunities for professional socialization, the use of research briefs, and open-access, peer-reviewed journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many young people in low-income neighbourhoods are considered to be at risk of poor social outcomes and of becoming victims of violence and crime. This exploratory study focuses on how young people perceive risk and navigate their environment in two lowincome, multi-ethnic neighbourhoods, one in Rotterdam and one in Chicago. We conducted in-depth interviews and mental mapping exercises with young people aged 14-19 in both sites. We found that neighbourhoods matter because they expose young people to certain kinds of risks, but also that their responses were shaped by their perceptions and interpretations of these risks. Moreover, we illustrate the dynamic and interactive nature of these processes of risk perception and management by discussing the ways in which different groups occupy and use, or travel through, public space at different times of the day. We argue that risk in disadvantaged neighbourhoods is not a static dimension in young people's lives but rather emerges from an ongoing and complex interaction between perception, interpretation and response that can be seen as a kind of boundary work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighbourhoods are important contexts for the socialization and adaptation of immigrant youth. They provide resources and opportunities for positive interactions with peers and non-family adults. But neighbourhoods differ systemically in their demographic composition and the type and quality of resources they offer young people. In the US, there is an implicit assumption equating suburban neighbourhoods with better schools, more jobs and higher quality housing compared to urban neighbourhoods. There is however, little explicit empirical evidence of how such differences may shape the experience of immigrant youth. This gap is concerning in light of recent trends of immigrants to move directly to the suburbs. The first part of the paper reviews the literatures on immigrant adaptation and neighbourhood effects. Drawing on two qualitative studies, the second part of the paper illustrates mechanisms through which suburban and urban neighbourhoods may influence the socialization and adaptation of immigrant youth growing up in them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Complex historic and structural constraints disproportionally disadvantage many low-income immigrant youth in the United States. This conceptual article summarizes scholarship on how local context influences their development and argues that the social work profession needs to attend to the diverse settings where immigrant youth are coming of age to design effective interventions. We use three recent studies of different environmental contexts—urban neighborhoods, suburban municipalities, and high school classrooms—to illustrate how they influence the trajectories of immigrant youth. We argue that the social work profession needs to recenter the person-in-environment perspective toward more context-focused interventions to support immigrant youth. We conclude with areas for further research to advance the profession’s understanding of immigrant youth development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]