“… nobody’s coming to save you”: Young Somali men, mental health and the costs of care

This paper engages with young Somali men’s accounts of masculinity, mental health, and interpersonal care, in a Northern English city. Very little research has explored the conceptions and experiences of mental health amongst Somalis in the UK. Nationally, Somalis are disproportionately subject to the social determinants of mental health.

Compared with the general population, Somalis are more likely to experience poverty, poor housing, and discrimination. Rates of depression are disproportionately high amongst British Somalis and Somali men are more likely to be admitted into psychiatric units and detained for longer periods of time, than their white counterparts (Rae, 2016).

Still, little is known about how young Somali men (i) understand mental health, (ii) navigate the intersecting challenges of inequality, and (iii) support themselves (and each other) to thrive within and beyond their communities.

Drawing on in-depth community-based participatory research with second generation Somali men (aged 15 – 30), this paper documents some of the ways that young Somalis interpret, experience, and resist the daily challenges associated with intersectional disadvantage. In doing so, it reveals both the formation and the costs of culturally acceptable masculine care practices, contributing to studies of migration, masculinities and mental health.

This event will take place on Wednesday 18 December 2024, 11.00am -12.00pm in the The Wave, Seminar Room 11 and online. 

Will Mason is a sociologist and a volunteer youth worker, based in Sheffield. He specialises in University-Community Partnerships with non-academic partners in the field of youth and community work.