"I can see it in their eyes, they think I'm crazy." Navigating the terrains of mental health through the experiences of young Somali individuals
Authors
Colnadar, Solin Dler ; Abdullahi, Aalaa Mohamed
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2024
Submitted on
2024-05-29
Pages
98
Abstract
This thesis explores how young Somali individuals in Denmark and Norway make sense of “worries of the mind”—a term the thesis uses to refer to both mental health and mental illness—and how this shapes their help-seeking. To center individual perspectives, the study uses an idiographic and phenomenological approach (focusing on lived experience) through case studies. It draws on seven semi-structured interviews analyzed case by case. A brief summary of an earlier, unpublished literature review with the same research question is included to map current knowledge and highlight gaps. The analysis is guided by theories of acculturation (adapting to a new culture) and proculturation (actively blending cultures), along with perspectives on social identity, positioning, social representations, intersectionality, and socio-cultural life-course. Findings show that participants navigate two cultural identities that offer different frameworks for understanding mental health and distress. Five of the seven are observed to primarily proculturate, and two to primarily acculturate. Many recognize and make sense of mental health issues through Danish or Norwegian frameworks, while turning to Islamic and Somali frameworks to cope and seek treatment. Participants also report stigma and discrimination related both to mental health difficulties and to their ethnic and racial backgrounds. Experiences of distress range from substantial to minor, but overall the study indicates that moving between cultural identities shapes how young Somalis understand worries of the mind and, in turn, influences their help-seeking. The thesis also discusses the interplay of theories, methodological strengths and limitations, and implications for future research and clinical practice.
Denne specialeundersøgelse handler om, hvordan unge somaliere i Danmark og Norge forstår og håndterer “bekymringer i sindet” – en betegnelse, der i afhandlingen bruges om både mental sundhed og psykisk sygdom – og hvordan dette påvirker deres søgen efter hjælp. For at komme tæt på den enkeltes perspektiv anvendes en idiografisk og fænomenologisk tilgang (fokus på personlige oplevelser) gennem casestudier. Datagrundlaget består af syv semistrukturerede interviews, som er analyseret case for case. En tidligere, upubliceret litteraturgennemgang med samme forskningsspørgsmål indgår kort for at skitsere eksisterende viden og pege på behovet for mere forskning. Analysen er guidet af teorier om akkulturation (tilpasning til en ny kultur) og proculturation (aktiv sammensmeltning af kulturer) samt perspektiver på social identitet, positionering, sociale repræsentationer, intersektionalitet og socio-kulturelle livsforløb. Fundene viser, at deltagerne navigerer mellem to kulturelle identiteter, som danner forskellige forståelsesrammer for mental sundhed og lidelse. Fem ud af syv deltagere vurderes primært at proculturere, mens to primært akkulterer. Mange genkender og forstår psykiske problemer gennem danske eller norske rammer, men benytter især islamiske og somaliske rammer til at håndtere og behandle dem. Deltagerne beskriver også stigmatisering og diskrimination – både knyttet til psykiske vanskeligheder og til etnisk/råd baggrund. Oplevelserne af psykiske belastninger varierer fra store til mindre udfordringer, men samlet peger studiet på, at balancen mellem kulturelle identiteter præger, hvordan unge somaliere forstår bekymringer i sindet og, i forlængelse heraf, deres hjælpsøgning. Afhandlingen drøfter desuden metodiske styrker og begrænsninger samt implikationer for fremtidig forskning og klinisk praksis.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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