ABSTRACT

Refugee young people negotiate journeys between countries of origin and countries of arrival, but simultaneously journey through their life course as they age through youth and young adulthood during this period of migration and 'settlement'. Sociological contributions to theoretical understandings of transitions to adulthood have most frequently been based on experiences in the global north, while there is a paucity of work on the relationships between transitions to adulthood and cross-border migration. The women's pre-migration lives and the nature of their flight and journeys to the UK also contributed to the levels of economic, social and cultural capital that they retained, lost or were able to develop in the UK. A potential 'return home' or continuation of a transnational relationship to their country of origin as adults was not only mediated through geographical dislocation, but also through distance created within their life course journey. There were parallels and interrelationships between the journeys of migration and transitions to adulthood.