“Neuropsychology of migration and impact on family composition”
Dr. Rostand Idriss Tchana Tchamba ( Pharmacist – Neuropsychologist)
Living beings, due to the initial and essential movement of the minimal units that form them (cells), seek various basic functions: respiration, nutrition, development and procreation for the survival of the species.
Therefore, due to the concepts of globalization and the need for security and fulfillment, many individuals are driven to migrate to horizons that they find more suitable to their life models and aspirations: In 2021, Europe will have a total of 1.92 million migrants and currently a total population of 37.5 million people who were born outside the European Union (European Union Commission, Statistics on migration to Europe, EUROSTAT DATAS 2021).
This arrival in a new society requires an awareness of oneself and one’s background, but also a great deal of adaptation in order to find one’s place in society and to make sense of it. In order to do so, integration through the learning of a new language, a way of life with a different history and geography is necessary, education through the learning of new skills and value creation, but also living together through the awareness of religious differences, values and priorities between the different members constituting this cosmopolitan society are to be taken into account.
The current circumstances of the migratory processes in Europe and the complexity of its diversity make the adaptation of children in society depend greatly on family structures and the dialogue that is present in them, the educational potential of them being also determined by the family structure, social, material means and the level of education of the parents (J. Borubin et al., 2015) .
Numerous studies have demonstrated a predisposition to psychological illnesses in families with a migration background due to the difference between the stable social structure of these families before the migration and after it. This is due to the complexity of the society, the psychological influences accompanied by stress and social burden, especially during the migration process, which fatally impact the psychological health of the family and its structure.
It is therefore important to see to what extent the therapeutic support of these families can be integrated, taking into account the different structural elements, parental models, but also the material elements made available for a perfect social integration and a common benefit.
Dr. Tchana Tchamba Rostand Idriss’ presentation at the next CARES conference will focus on the neurocognitive factors involved in family structure for populations with a migration background and family recomposition models.
REFERENCES:
- G. Burorin, N. Kalinina, Pathological Structural Changes at Migrants’ Families, European Psychiatry, Volume 30, Supplement 1, 2015, Page 860, ISSN 0924-9338,
- European Comission, EUROSTATS 2022, Overall figure of migrants in European Society: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/promoting-our-european-way-life/statistics-migration-europe_en#:~:text=Refugees%20in%20Europe,-Based%20on%20data&text=26.6%20million%20refugees%20in%20mid,at%20the%20end%20of%2020.
- American Psychological Association Task Force on the Psychosocial Effects of War on Children and Families Who Are Refugees From Armed Conflict Residing in the United States (2009). Working with refugee children and families: Update for mental health professionals. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/refugees-health-professionals.pdf.
- Abi-Hashem, N. (2011) Working with Middle Eastern immigrant families. In: Zagelbaum, A., Carlson, J. (eds) Working with immigrant families: A practical guide for counselors, New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 151-180.
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- Joop T. V. M. de Jong, Ortal Slobodin, Family interventions in traumatized immigrants and refugees: A systemic review : Trascultural psychiatry