“Are my needs heard?” A qualitative study on the psychosocial needs of unaccompanied minors in Switzerland

Since the 2015 migration crisis in Europe, very few studies have focused on the actual needs of UnAccompanied Minors (UAM); top-down policies have been issued, but very little voice has been granted to the minors directly. The current qualitative study provides an in-depth analysis of UAM’s psychosocial needs drawing from a corpus that gathered semi-structured interviews with 49 UAM living in Switzerland (46 male and 3 female). A thematic content analysis followed a hybrid deductive/inductive approach. Results revealed nine psychosocial needs: (1) Social support, (2) Security, (3) Culture, (4) Education, (5) Work, (6) Leisure activities, (7) Coping with idle time (8) Medical care and (9) Living standards. UAM also emphasized the inequalities in access to the structures and relations that may help in the fulfilment of the nine needs. We discuss the importance of focusing on UAM’s needs in order to tailor adapted social support practices.

Auteur·e·s
Burkhart Anaïs
Fasel Rachel
Rey Sylvain
Jelic Margareta
Čorkalo Biruški Dinka
Stanković Nikolina
Vrdoljak Antonija
Decollogny Solenne
Domingues-Mendonça Ana
Faivre Aurélie
Jobin Baptiste
Petit Floriane
Romerio Margaux
Rothenbuehler Garance
Russo Laure-Anne
Valle Ana
Teklu Yordanos
Burger Kaspar
Csupor Isabelle
Csupor Isabelle
Darbellay Frédéric
Konan N'Dri Paul
Konan N'Dri Paul
Butera Fabrizio
Liens
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-09063-z
Références

Burkhart, A., Fasel, R., Rey, S., Jelić, M., Čorkalo Biruški, D., Stanković, N., Vrdoljak, A., Decollogny, S., Domingues-Mendonça, A., Faivre, A., Jobin, B., Petit, F., Romerio, M., Rothenbuehler, G., Russo, L.-A., Valle, A., Teklu, Y., Burger, K., Csupor, I., Darbellay, F., Konan, N. P., & Butera, F. (2026). "Are my needs heard?" A qualitative study on the psychosocial needs of unaccompanied minors in Switzerland. Current Psychology, 45, 615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-09063-z