The Roma Context

This chapter presents an overview of the current situation of Roma ethnic minority groups. The authors provide a brief historical outline as well as a summary of major sociodemographic, cultural, and contextual characteristics of Roma. They compare these characteristics across different countries hosting Roma populations and discuss their potential importance for children and youth within broader social and cultural contexts. Drawing on currently available empirical work with these populations, the authors address the question of whether traditional developmental frameworks can apply to oppressed minority settings. They also examine how unique cultural-specific and universal features of Roma can inform the understanding of optimal adaptation in adolescence. The authors conclude by emphasizing the relevance of recognizing that oppressed minority groups such as Roma have potentials and strengths on which we need to build, rather than assume that their communities are only characterized by adversity and deficits.