Minority Youth, Broad Context and Inclusive Psychosocial intervention

The paper explores some aspects of ethnic minority youth’s situation with an understanding implying simultaneous dealing with the family, the majority society and the ancestral country. Some practice related recommendations are also presented. Employing a critical social psychological perspective, the paper combines results of an empirical study about dynamics in ethic minority families with knowledge based on an ongoing intervention service about ethnic minority youth in Denmark (TTT*). The empirical study employed both quantitative questionnaire & qualitative interviews. Results of the empirical study point to the commonalities among the minority youth and the parental generation: reorganisation of the family relations related to the life transitions and the experiences of racial discrimination in society which has turned increasingly restrictive in migration policies during the past years. The positive developmental processes depict both current generational conflicts and their reduction/resolution through dialogues and sharing in the daily life. Strong personal relationships appear to be a significant factor in the family dynamic. Recommendations for appropriate psychosocial interventions are proposed, based on the processes of inclusion at multiple levels. These processes of inclusion are fundamental to the principles in the psychosocial service (TTT) at the personal, interpersonal as well as societal level. At personal level, the intervention principle implies an identity with multiple dimensions including the diasporic aspects. While at the interpersonal level, intervention implies involvement of family, which suggests tranformative empowerment of the youth as well as the parental generation. In the Danish context, we can place this empowerment perspective as a sort of productive grey zone between the action research and social research which is critical about state power (Andersen, 2005). Lastly the principle at the structural level implies focus on the societal processes of exclusion and their effect on the family dynamic. These recommendations are illustrated by practice based cases. Presentation of this paper will lead to constructive debate and further co-operation about the ethnic minority youth in Denmark, thereby contribute to their positive developmental processes.