Making other dreams: The impact of migration on the psychosocial wellbeing of Albanian-origin children and young people upon their families’ return to Albania

Abstract

Return migration has not been associated with negative psychosocial outcomes, while the experience of children involved in this process has been largely overlooked. This article looks at the migration experience of Albanian-origin children and young people upon their families’ return to Albania. Contrasting with a primordial understanding of ‘homeland’, ‘belongingness’ and ‘return migration’, which is focussed on the nation-state, the findings show that a lack of (diasporic) belongingness affects children’s wellbeing upon their families’ return to the country of origin. While children show remarkable mechanisms of coping and resilience, contextual factors moderate the links between migration and psychosocial wellbeing.