A. (Halim) Albakkor, MA MSc

Identity, Well-being, and the Sense of Belonging of Migrant Children in the Netherlands.

My PhD research focuses on the relationship between adolescents’ sense of identity and their wellbeing and focuses solely on adolescents with Syrian and Moroccan background living in the Netherlands. It provides a comparison between the two communities with respect to the process of socialization, networking, community building and takes into consideration the urban/rural division and the trans-generational networks that older migrant groups might have in comparison to newcomers. The research also aims to test whether the different migration trajectory is likely to influence migrant’s resources and social networking capacity, affecting their well-being in the form of emotional attachment to the Netherlands and their sense of belonging.

The Questions addressed in my research are:

1-      What factors shape the well-being and self-identification of adolescents in the Moroccan and Syrian communities in the Netherlands?

2-     What possible relation may exist between the social location and socio-cultural capital of Syrian and Moroccan adolescents and their  general well-being?

3-      What techniques do migrants utilize to build social networks and/or to sustain transnational network or compensate for limited social and cultural capital in the Netherlands.

4- What possible relationship exist between migrants’ well-being and their emotional integration, self-identification and belonging?