Navigating the COVID-19 Storm: Roma and Egyptian Adolescent Minorities’ Developmental Assets in Albania

• In Event: Underrepresented Voices: Positive Youth Development among Vulnerable Minority Children and Youth in Times of Pandemic

Abstract

Within a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework (Benson, 2007; Lerner et al., 2017), the alignment of personal and contextual assets results in youths’ thriving and contribution to their own development and that of their contexts. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shattered our societies, exacerbating pre-existing social and health disparities. In this scenario, minority youth have been disproportionately impacted due to limited access to basic developmental resources (Prime, Wade, & Browne, 2020). Roma and Egyptian minority youth in Albania in particular (and Europe in general) face multiple challenges, such as barriers to education, poor integration, discrimination, marginalization, and poverty (De Soto, Beddies, & Gedeshi, 2005). Undeniably, their situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic (Matache & Bhabha, 2020). Research on Roma and Egyptian minority youth during the pandemic is urgently needed to inform prevention and intervention efforts to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on their wellbeing and to inform ways to protect and promote their positive development in the short and long-term. This collaborative, community-based qualitative study aims to investigate: 1) what developmental assets (personal strengths and contextual resources) are accessible to Roma and Egyptian minority youth in Albania during the COVID-19 pandemic and to what extent; 2) how the presence or absence of such assets during the pandemic helps or hinders positive development.
Participants comprised a convenience sample of 31 Roma and Egyptian adolescents aged between 14-20 years (45% girls; 48% Roma; Mage = 16.71; SD = 2.00, 32% dropped-out of school) residing in three Albanian cities (i.e., Elbasan, Berat and Shkodra). Six focus groups (n=3 with Roma and n=3 with Egyptian adolescents) were conducted at the involved community organization sites by a team of an experienced researcher and a trained cultural mediator from the community at each site. Using Nvivo9, an inductive thematic approach was used for data analysis.
Preliminary results show strikingly low contextual assets for both Roma and Egyptian youth, who struggle daily for basic needs and even more so during the pandemic. Results highlight barriers to integration and a lack of alignment between personal and contextual assets which jeopardizes thriving. Family emerges as the main source of support, the only guarantee of safety, food and shelter. However, the pandemic fragilized both family and community solidarity, increasing isolation among minority youth. A general lack of trust in institutions and mainstream community services contrasts with a deep desire to build positive social relationships with youth from diverse ethnic backgrounds, including the majority. Respect of social distancing measures is hindered by structural barriers and exposure to contrasting messages about the pandemic across contexts. Youth compensate this lack of external resources by valuing their flexibility and capacity to adapt to adverse situations. Although they reported a general negative vision of the future, they expressed a strong motivation for change. Bottom-up community-based interventions building on minority youths’ skills and strengths and building bridges between mainstream and minority communities and contexts are urgently needed to support and empower minority youth during and in the aftermath of this pandemic.

Authors

• Diana Miconi, McGill University
  Presenting Author

• Eglantina Dervishi, university of Tirana
  Non-Presenting Author