Document Type : Original Article
Researchers
1 Allameh Tabataba'i University
2 law and political science facility, allame tabatabai university.
3 Department of Education, facility of Psychology, Allameh Tabatabaei University
Ministerial Ethics Committee
Political events—including protests, elections, and policy changes—can affect adolescents’ sense of opportunity, belonging, and security. These assessments may influence how attractive, tolerable, or impossible it is to stay in the country, and to what extent migration is seen as a necessary, desirable, or likely option (Alcaraz, 2023; Demirci, 2023; Ruhe & Kuhnt, 2023). Most existing research on the relationship between political events and migration has focused on adult populations, often using quantitative surveys or examining a single, exceptional event. In contrast, few qualitative, mechanism-based studies have examined how adolescents themselves interpret political events and how they link these interpretations to their migration thoughts (Myoung & Liou, 2022); This gap is despite the emerging literature on adolescent political development and political socialization in school emphasizing that adolescents’ experiences and interpretations of the political environment are crucial for shaping paths of participation or exit (including migration) (Oosterhoff & Wray-Lake, 2021). Adolescence (16–18 years) is a key stage for shaping long-term plans and imagining different life paths; including planning for when to start a family, education, and employment, which are themselves linked to “migration aspirations/intentions” (Alcaraz, 2023). Understanding how political events enter adolescents’ narratives of “staying” or “going” and how they are shaped in the context of their political development can contribute to youth policymaking, psychological support, and theorizing in the field of political socialization and migration (Oosterhoff & Wray-Lake, 2021).