Exploring adjustment mechanisms of adolescent expat kids from South Asia against sociopolitical stigma

What is it about?

Previous studies have identified that children of expatriates find it extremely difficult to adjust with the host country culture, especially when they make such transitions as adolescents. In the new millennium, the world has witnessed several radical socio-political turbulences such as rise of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments which have accentuated the challenges and issues encountered by expatriates and their accompanying family members. This challenge is more acute for South Asian expatriate workers who are predominantly affected by such crises. In this study, a latent thematic analysis is conducted to understand the specific problems faced by post-millennial expat kids from South Asia with respect to above mentioned socio-political shifts since children from this geographic region are more at risk of being targeted by anti-immigrant grievance and religious stigma. Response is obtained from 27 South Asian expat kids who have spent at least three years in foreign locations along with their parents between 2014 and 2019. The study also tries to understand how they cope with such challenges. The findings reveal the type of challenges encountered by South Asian expatriate kids and how they adapt to such challenges.

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