Adjustment and Behaviour of Finnish Immigrant Children in Stockholm

Abstract

The object of the investigation was to study the behaviour and adjustment of Finnish children following their immigration to Sweden, and to see whether there was any connection between the families' acclimatization and the children's adjustment at the time of the investigation, three years after their migration from Finland. The material consisted of 40 children from 27 families. The parents were interviewed by a Finnish psychologist. The results were co-ordinated with those of an investigation of the same children at school. To judge from the parents' statements, behavioural disorders were to be found in the children more often after immigration than prior to it or three years after. The disturbances most often mentioned as appearing after migration were shyness, poor self-esteem, nail-biting and psychomotor unrest. Children from homes where the parents reported the existence of relationship disturbances, problems with alcohol or depression were more often maladjusted and had greater difficulty in being accepted at school. Even if the adjustment of immigrant children to shcool can be improved by educational measures, this should also be considered in the context of the families' and parents' situation in society.