'Becoming adult': Conceptions of futures and wellbeing among young people subject to immigration control in the UK

在没有父母或法定监护人的情况下独自移民到英国的年轻人在18岁时过渡到“成年”（按制度定义），他们面临着一系列可能的结果。对许多人来说，他们生命中的这个阶段对应着向非法移民的过渡，因为他们不再有资格获得专门为“儿童”提供的支持服务，他们在英国的合法居留权利也到了尽头。许多人脱离机构，以减少被强行遣返原籍国的风险。有些人可能会迁移到欧洲其他地区，或者如果返回原籍国，可能随后会回到欧洲。即使他们留在英国，被贴上“成年人”的标签通常意味着在获得教育、住房和其他福利服务方面的权利下降。这项研究具有创新性和参与性，它解决了我们对受移民管制的年轻人一旦“成年”后会发生什么的理解上的一个重大差距。它探讨了年轻人自己对未来的概念，这些概念是如何形成的，以及随着时间的推移影响他们实现这些未来计划的能力的因素。这是有史以来首次尝试系统调查英国18岁后受移民管制的年轻人的长期福祉结果。这项研究优先考虑了幸福和未来之间的交集，并解决了以下问题：随着时间的推移，受英国移民管制的年轻人如何“成年”并寻求实现他们的未来计划？2. 受移民管制的年轻人在构思和寻求实现其未来计划的方式上受到他们随时间和地点相互作用的文化规范和社会网络的哪些影响？3. 考虑到明确的未来与幸福感之间预先建立的联系，随着时间的推移，移民控制过程如何影响年轻人的幸福感？4. 对管制受移民管制的年轻人的结果的政策与他们“成为成年人”的生活经历之间的协同作用/不协调进行分析，会产生什么政策影响？该研究结合了社会学、人类学和社会政策的调查模式，结合了以下内容：对来自四个国家（阿富汗、厄立特里亚、越南和阿尔巴尼亚）的受移民控制的年轻人进行深入的纵向研究；对四个国家背景下对未来和福祉的文化理解（及其与移民和“成年”的关联）的批判性分析；有关移民和庇护政策及其应用的分析；衡量一段时间内的幸福感（使用客观和主观指标）；以及为受移民控制的年轻人在向成年过渡的过程中所取得的成果建立一个全国性的概况。研究方法上的一项重要创新是，在整个研究过程中，让受移民管制的年轻人作为研究小组的核心成员参与研究。通过批判性地将年轻人的移民生活经历及其相关的文化依恋与移民控制政策并列，本研究考察了此类政策的相关性、可能的效力及其对年轻人福祉的影响。一系列学术产出将得到额外政策产出的补充，包括：一套支持受国际移民管制的青年的政策和实践指南；由10名正/已受移民管制的青年完成经认可的研究方法培训课程；全欧洲范围的国际政策会议；一套供学校和学院使用的教材；以及一个参与式艺术项目，作为传播重要研究成果的媒介。

Young people who migrate to the UK alone without a parent or legal guardian face a range of possible outcomes as they make the transition to 'adulthood' (as institutionally defined) at the age of 18. For many, this stage in their lives corresponds with a transition into illegality as they become no longer eligible for support services dedicated to 'children', and reach the end of their legal right to remain in the UK. Many disengage from institutions in order to decrease the risk of being forcibly removed to their countries of origin. Some may migrate on to other parts of Europe or, if returned to a country of origin, may subsequently come back to Europe. Even if they stay in the UK, being labelled an 'adult' usually means a drop in entitlements with respect to access to education, housing and other welfare services. Innovative and participatory in nature, this research addresses a significant gap in our understanding of what happens to young people subject to immigration control once they 'become adult'. It explores young people's own conceptions of their futures, how these are formed and the factors which affect their ability to realise these future plans over time. This is the first ever attempt to systematically investigate the longer term wellbeing outcomes for young people subject to immigration control in the UK once they turn 18. The research prioritises the intersection between wellbeing and futures and addresses the following questions: 1. How do young people 'becoming adult' while subject to immigration control in the UK conceptualise and seek to realise their future plans over time? 2. In what ways are young people subject to immigration control influenced in how they conceptualise and seek to realise their future plans by the cultural norms and social networks with which they interact over time and place? 3. Given the pre-established association between a well defined future and a sense of wellbeing, how do processes of immigration control impact on young people's wellbeing outcomes over time? 4. What policy implications emerge from an analysis of the synergy/ dissonance between policies governing the outcomes for young people subject to immigration control and their lived experiences of 'becoming adult'? Bringing together sociological, anthropological and social policy modes of inquiry, the study combines: in-depth longitudinal research with young people subject to immigration control from four countries (Afghanistan, Eritrea, Vietnam and Albania); a critical analysis of culturally embedded understandings of futures and wellbeing (and their associations with migration and 'adulthood') in four country contexts; an analysis of relevant immigration and asylum policies and their applications; a measure of wellbeing (using objective and subjective indicators) over time; and the building of a national profile of outcomes for young people subject to immigration control as they make the transition to adulthood. A key methodological innovation is the involvement of young people subject to immigration control as central members of the research team throughout the course of the project. By critically juxtaposing young people's lived experiences of migration and their associated cultural attachments with immigration control policies, this work examins the relevance of such policies, their likely efficacy and their impact on young people's wellbeing. A range of academic outputs will be supplemented by additional policy outputs including: a set of policy and practice guidelines for supporting young adults subject to immigration control of international relevance; an accredited training programme in research methods completed by 10 young adults who are/ have been subject to immigration control; an international Europe-wide policy conference; a set of educational materials for schools and colleges; and a participatory art project as a medium for disseminating key research findings.