Browsing by Subject "belonging"

Huumeiden kokeilu ja käyttö ovat yleistyneet Suomessa viime vuosien aikana merkittävästi, etenkin nuoremmissa ikäryhmissä. Kokeilun ja käytön yleistyminen koskee erityisesti kannabista ja sen kokeilua. Suurella osalla kannabiskokeilut jäävät muutamaan käyttökertaan. Mutta myös muiden huumeiden käyttö on lisääntynyt Suomessa. Käytön lisääntyminen on näkynyt käytöstä johtuvien haittojen kasvuna. Viime vuosina huumesairaudet ja nuorten huumekuolemat ovat lisääntyneet. Myös huumeiden ongelmakäyttö on lisääntynyt. Tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään nuorten päihdeongelman tarkasteluun sosiaalisten suhteiden, erityisesti lähi- ja vertaissuhteiden näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää millä tavoin sosiaaliset suhteet voivat vaikuttaa päihdeongelman syntyyn, motivoida päihdemaailmasta irtautumista sekä edistää toipumista. Tutkimustehtävää lähestytään kysymällä, millä tavoin sosiaaliset suhteet vaikuttuvat päihteiden ongelmakäyttöön. Pääkysymyksen lisäksi kysytään, millaisia sosiaaliset suhteet ovat eri elämänvaiheissa olleet, ja mitä päihteiden ongelmakäyttöön kytkeytyviä ilmiöitä sosiaalisista vuorovaikutussuhteista löytyy. Tutkimusteemoja tarkastellaan kuulumisen ja yhteisöllisyyden viitekehyksissä. Tutkielman aineistona on haastatteluaineisto, joka koostuu kuuden päihdeongelmasta toipuvan nuoren haastattelusta. Narratiiviset menetelmät muodostavat tutkielman metodologisen perustan. Narratiivisille menetelmille tyypilliseen tapaan, tutkielmassa pyritään tarkastelemaan ilmiötä haastateltavien biografioihin sidottuina. Tämän tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan kiusatuksi tuleminen ja ulkopuolisuuden tunne ovat yhteydessä päihdeongelman kehittymiseen. Vertaisyhteisölliset kiinnikkeet olivat kiusatuksi tulemisen ja ulkopuolisuuden tunteen vuoksi ohuet. Syntyi kuulumisen vajeita, joihin vertaisyhteisöllisyyden ulkopuoliset päihdealakulttuurit tarjosivat vastakaikua. Uuden sosiaalisen maailman löytymisestä seurannut voimakas yhteisöllisyyden tunne oli merkittävä syvemmälle päihdemaailman sysännyt tekijä. Päihdeongelman kehittyessä ja ongelmien syvetessä päihdealakulttuurit alkoivat erkaantua toisistaan. Päihdemaailmaa ja sen vuorovaikutussuhteita leimasi kavaluus, petollisuus, väkivalta ja yhteisöllisen liiman vähyys. Perhesuhteiden lisäksi edellä mainitut tekijät olivat merkittäviä päihdemaailmasta irtautumista motivoivia syitä. Tulosten perusteella päihdemaailmasta irtautumisen jälkeen toipuva saa merkittävää apua ja tukea vertaistukiyhteisöllisyydestä ja lähisuhteista uuden elämänvaiheen vakiinnuttamisessa. Elämän uudelleen rakentumisen tukena tavanomaiset sosiaaliset suhteet ovat hyvin merkityksellisiä. Monesti puhutaan päihteiden käytön alkamisen yhteydessä vääränlaiseen kaveriporukkaan ajautumisesta. Tulosten perusteella väitän, että pohjimmiltaan epämääräisiin porukoihin ajautumisessa on kyse kuulumisen tarpeiden täyttämisestä ja positiivisen minäkuvan rakentumisesta. Kyse on myös siitä, että näihin porukoihin ajautuvien tavanomaiset menestymisen mahdollisuudet ovat eri syistä johtuen heikot.

There has been increasing research attention on wellbeing of students in higher education both in Finland and internationally. Because of its goal-oriented nature, higher education resembles working in many ways. Thus, research on students´ wellbeing has started utilizing concepts derived from occupational research. Burnout and study engagement are concepts that are being used in research on both lower educational levels and higher education. Burnout describes feelings of exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy experienced when demands of studying exceed available resources. Engagement on the other hand means feeling vigorous, dedicated and absorbed in studying and arises when demands and resources are better balanced. The goal of this thesis was to increase understanding of social resources that can guard against the negative effects of demands and foster engagement in higher education. It investigated how social support, guidance and counselling from the educational institution and sense of belonging to studying related groups are related to burnout and engagement experienced by students. The data for this study was the Finnish Student Health Service´s Student Health Survey from 2016, which is a representative sample of students in universities and universities of applied sciences in Finland (N=3110). Burnout symptoms were measured using the SBI-9 measure and engagement using the Schoolwork Engagement Scale. The total scores on these two scales were analyzed together with social support, guidance and counselling and sense of belonging to studying related groups. Pearson´s correlation coefficients were obtained to reveal the bivariate associations of these variables followed by two hierarchical regression analyses on burnout and engagement individually. All of the social resources were included as predictors in these models and the stage of studies, gender and feeling of being in the right field of study were controlled for as background variables. The results supported both hypotheses and existing literature. It was found that those students who were able to talk about their matters with someone, had received guidance to their studies and felt like they belong to studying related groups had lower levels of burnout symptoms. Similarly, students with sufficient social resources were more engaged in their studies. The results indicate that social resources are an important factor in wellbeing of higher education students. Future research should continue to further study these resources using more accurate measures incorporating different types of social support or different groups in the educational context.

The number of older migrants has been increasing in the world. Immigration to Finland has also been growing with Russia as one of the biggest nationalities. Older migrants are one of the most vulnerable groups since they might receive less attention than younger migrants, feel more insecure in a new environment, and deal with age-related processes, such as retirement, loss of a spouse, and declining health. Additionally, migration leads to relocation to a new society and adjustment to it, a language barrier, separation from family and friends, and other difficulties. A sense of belonging is crucial for migrants since it provides a feeling of comfort and affects their well-being, and negotiating cultural identity and belonging remains relevant even for those who lived in the country of settlement for decades. Creating a sense of belonging in the receiving society may be challenging for older people due to difficulties in learning a language, declining health, and socialization into origin ethnic culture long before migrating. That is why older migrants’ sense of belonging is a primary interest of this study. This thesis focuses on belonging through identity, which is defined as identification with a certain community, and on individual-level factors of belonging. In addition, the association between cultural orientations and types of belonging is examined. The thesis uses a quantitative approach and data from CHARM research. CATPCA is used to identify types of belonging and cultural orientations, and regression analysis is employed to examine the association between factors and types of belonging. Three types of belonging were found among older Russian-speaking migrants (50 years and above) in Finland : national belonging to Russians and Russian-speaking people in Finland, emotional belonging to communities of colleges, friends, neighbours in Finland, and belonging to Ingrian Finns. Worth noting that a core element of belonging to Ingrian Finns is a religion since it is one of the indicators of Ingrian Finns' identity. Similar to previous studies, local language may be one of the barriers to emotional belonging. However, “poor” Finnish or Swedish skills contribute to national belonging to Russians. Other significant predictors for all types of belonging health, religion, and economic situation. Additionally, orientations to Russian and Finnish culture are moderately and positively correlated, which indicates that migrants may orientate to both Finnish and Russian cultures simultaneously, and their cultural identities may be compatible. Orientation to Russian culture contributes to national belonging and belonging to Ingrian Finns. On the other hand, orientation to Finnish culture and belonging to Ingrian Finns are negatively associated. This thesis shows that older Russian-speaking migrants in Finland may have multiple types of belonging, and some of the most significant factors of national and emotional belonging as well as belonging to Ingrian Finns include language, health, and religion. Furthermore, the concept of cultural orientations is significant for migrants' sense of belonging, and the association between cultural orientations and a sense of belonging should be investigated in more detail

This master’s thesis is an ethnographic study about everyday urban encounters and social interaction. It explores how residents in the suburban housing estate of Kontula in East Helsinki negotiate social and cultural difference in their everyday lives. The study focuses on the semi-public spaces of the local shopping centre and examines residents’ capacity to live with difference. The study contributes to a multi-vocal and historically informed understanding of the processes that shape the social landscapes of a socially mixed and multi-ethnic neighbourhood. The study is based on fieldwork carried out in two phases between August 2019 and February 2020. The study applies anthropological methods of participant observation and qualitative interviews. The eleven research participants are adults between the ages of 30 and 71 who live in the neighbourhood and have extensive personal experience of the shopping centre. Although the interviews were a crucial aspect of the meaning-making process, the study relies primarily on participant observation in constructing an interpretation and analysis of social interaction at an intimate scale. In order to contextualise everyday encounters at the shopping centre, this thesis assesses how Kontula, as a stigmatised territory in the urban margins, encapsulates a complex interplay between moral claims of a “good” and “bad” neighbourhood. While some residents confirm negative stereotypes about the shopping centre and bring attention to local social problems and issues of unsafety, others downplay these problems and instead emphasise how tolerant and sociable the shopping centre is. Observations of stigmatised territories reveal how the participation of marginalised individuals and ethnic minorities at the shopping centre challenges the processes and discourses that constitute them as objects of fear and nuisance. The concepts of conviviality and cosmopolitan canopies are used to analyse local social interactions. The analysis suggests that the capacity to live with difference is enabled by ordinary meeting places, such as pubs and cafés, where residents come into regular social contact and engage with diverse individuals and groups. While the maintenance of ethnic boundaries remains salient in the way residents negotiate the social landscapes, these ordinary spaces of encounter situationally reconfigure categories of “us” and “them” and thus expand local meanings of who belongs. The analysis concludes that the contested meanings of belonging and the everyday negotiation of difference are attributes of an open multi-ethnic society coming to terms with difference and change. The analysis suggests that an equal right to participate and interact in shared urban spaces, rather than community consensus, is the hallmark of a society’s capacity to live with difference.

Previous research has shown that racism and discrimination negatively impact mental health and that students in Finland from immigrant families are more likely to report loneliness, anxiety, lack of close friendship, and poorer school belonging than their native counterparts. Furthermore, international schools, which is the empirical context of this thesis, have been criticized for being highly Western and white, leaving out important topics concerning BIPOC that would be expected to obtain an “international” education. Therefore, there is a need for more research into the lived experiences of racism of YPOC in an international school context and ways to support their wellbeing. To address this need, this thesis aims to investigate in what ways YPOC studying at an international school in the Greater Helsinki area cope with racism and how they find support. I focus on how race, racialisation, and racism affect their lived experiences and their sense of belonging, and how YPOC construct their racial and ethnic identities within white-dominated spaces. I also highlight sources of support for YPOC and how peer support is a means of supporting student wellbeing. The study was conducted using a participatory approach, with data collected through notes taken from a series of peer support group sessions I co-facilitated, as well as interviews. The planning of the research focus and facilitation of peer support group sessions took place in collaboration with a youth mental health association The data was analysed using a reflexive thematic approach to highlight themes in stories shared by the participating youth while acknowledging the value of research subjectivity. YPOC shared experiences of constantly being seen under the white gaze, being made aware of their race and Otherness in everyday life. They shared challenges with defining their identity and finding belonging and community, especially in transnational spaces. Finally, they affirmed peer support as a strategy for coping with the effects of racism, demonstrating the need for safe spaces for YPOC. This research indicates the need for contextualised mental health support for YPOC and action towards deconstructing institutional racism and Eurocentrism in the international school context.