NCJ Number
217426
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 17-24
Date Published
December 2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the life stories of 21 students in Australia who were at risk for delinquency; they included recent African refugees, immigrants, Aborigines, and "majority" youth living in remote, rural, and urban areas of Western Australia.
Abstract
Results indicate that all the youth expressed hope for their future. The refugee students had the densest social networks and identified people outside their immediate family who provided support in talking about problems and providing material aid. Other students, including the Aboriginal students, had the least dense social networks and experienced disrupted family connections. There is evidence the refugee students are striving for a bicultural position in society rather than assimilation, as they have tended to maintain their traditional cultural or religious practices. Immigrant students who were attempting to adapt to Western culture were encountering restrictions from their families. Such cultural conflict makes youth more vulnerable to maladjustment and problem behavior. All youth in the study expressed a love of music. Adherence to cultural celebrations and musical entertainment may contribute to a healthy mental state for youth at risk. The promotion of a bicultural identity could enrich youth's sense of belonging in both cultural milieus. An assimilation-only approach increases conflicts and stress likely to cause problem behaviors and delinquency. Indepth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the 21 at-risk students in 2005-2006 in order to explore their hopes and aspirations as well as how they defined themselves. Five were African, eight were Aboriginal, two were Asian, one was European, and five were "majority" Australians. All lived in a low-socioeconomic, relatively disadvantaged suburb of Perth. 1 table and 37 references