Changing Family Dynamics in Refugee Families
In this project, we provide professionals with knowledge and practical tools to navigate role shifts and changing family dynamics in refugee families. Through a combination of literature and field exploration, and long-term follow-up with several refugee families residing in reception centres, we develop a diversity-sensitive approach to parenting, growing up, and family dynamics after (forced) migration. We then experiment with this approach in various reception centres and develop tailored forms of support. Finally, we translate our insights into a training package and an inspiration guide for the entire reception sector and for other professionals working with families after (forced) migration.
In the media
Eos Science Psyche & Brein of 13/03/2025 quoted Kaat Van Acker on the specific forms of parentification in families with a refugee background, in an article on “eldest daughter syndrome.”
What does it mean to be a parent or a child after fleeing one’s home? How does this differ from the situation before a family’s flight? Psyche Magazine published an article in June 2025 about our research on changing family dynamics in refugee families. In it, Kaat Van Acker questions whether our existing knowledge of parentification can be directly applied to refugee families. “Ideas about parental and child responsibilities are deeply influenced by both cultural and situational factors. (…) Cultural views on parental expectations and children’s needs are strongly shaped by sociocultural contexts. (…) That’s why it’s important to deconstruct the concept of parentification.”
Previous research and training sessions (Groeninck et al., 2019; Fournier et al., 2022) have shown that professionals working with refugee families often raise questions about what they refer to as parentification—a term widely discussed in psychology. In its classical sense, parentification refers to shifts in family dynamics where children take on emotional, practical, and logistical responsibilities from their parents, blurring the boundaries between parent and child (Boszormanyi-Nagy & Spark, 2014; Lutman, 2019). Professionals express concerns about the development, identity, and well-being of minors who assume parental roles, such as caring for siblings, translating during interactions with official institutions, or financially supporting family members from afar. These concerns are shaped by existing knowledge on parentification, which originates from a Western context and primarily highlights the long-term negative consequences for children (Jurkovic, 1997).
With this project, we aim to provide professionals with knowledge and tools to better understand and respond to changing family dynamics in refugee families. The project consists of three phases, carried out in close collaboration with Fedasil (formal partner of this project) and a peer learning group of psychosocial counsellors and therapists from various organisations.
- In the first phase, we will develop experiential knowledge about how refugee families themselves define parenting and growing up, and how they interpret changing family dynamics after migration. This will be achieved through targeted and long-term participatory observation with families, involving regular conversations with parents, children, and support workers.
- In the second phase, we will translate this knowledge into a diversity-sensitive approach to parenting and growing up in the context of (forced) migration and reception. Based on this approach, we will develop and implement meaningful forms of support that are effective for both parents and children in navigating changing family dynamics. These support methods will be tested and evaluated within reception centres, and we will document the learning and negotiation processes that emerge.
- In the third phase, we will share the developed knowledge and methodologies with staff across the reception network, other professionals working with refugee families, and more broadly with families who have experienced (forced) migration. We will disseminate experiential insights and diversity-sensitive strategies for interaction and support that may be relevant for a nuanced approach to families after migration. This will be done through training sessions and an inspiration guide. Specifically for Fedasil, we will formulate concrete policy recommendations for the daily support of families in reception centres.
