Study shows expat children successfully integrate into Spanish life

Although expats are generally perceived as older adults, many younger couples with children now leave their home countries for fresh starts overseas.

Spain is an ever-popular expat destination for its warmer weather and more laid-back lifestyle than in Northern Europe, but parents can be forgiven for wondering about the effects of emigration on their adolescent children. However, a recent study is claiming that over 75 per cent of expat adolescents integrate happily without experiencing any traumas.

The study surveyed 7,000 young expats between the ages of 12 and 17, measuring indications of problems at home, in school and in society as a whole. The emphasis was on adjustment to a new culture and measured the incidence of unemployment, criminal behaviour and underage pregnancies.

Much to the relief of expat parents in the country, the results of the study were encouraging, with over 78 per cent of ‘second generation immigrant’ children of expats unaffected in any way by their change of habitat. Just over four per cent of those who took part admitted to one or two negative incidents in their lives.

Professor Rosa Aparicio, author of the survey, believes that it’s far easier for expat children to adjust to their new lives than it is for their parents. Kids, she said, find it far less stressful to integrate into school communities as they face less prejudice, leading to a far more positive adaptation process.