Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts Taking A Positive Approach To Research Policy and Practice Radosveta Dimitrova All Chapter

Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural
Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach

to Research, Policy, and Practice
Radosveta Dimitrova
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Roma Minority Youth Across
Cultural Contexts
C H I L D DE V E L OP M E N T I N C U LT U R A L C ON T E X T
Series Editors
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Peggy Miller
Advisory Board
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Edited by Kay E. Sanders and Alison Wishard Guerra
Self-Esteem in Time and Place: How American Families Imagine,
Enact, and Personalize a Cultural Ideal
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Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts: Taking a Positive
Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice
Edited by Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-Wreder
Indigenous Mexican Students in U.S. Schools: Ethnicity, Multilingualism, and
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Wendy Haight, Misa Kayama, Mary May-Lee Ku, Minhae Cho, and Hee Yun Lee
Roma Minority Youth
Across Cultural
Contexts
Taking a Positive Approach to Research,
Policy, and Practice
Edited by
R A D O S V E TA D I M I T R OVA ,
DAV I D L . S A M , A N D L AU R A F E R R E R- W
REDER
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dimitrova, Radosveta, 1977– editor. | Sam, David L., editor. | Ferrer-Wreder, Laura, editor.
Title: Roma minority youth across cultural contexts : taking a positive
approach to research, policy, and practice / edited by Radosveta
Dimitrova, David Lackland Sam, Laura Ferrer-Wreder.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] |
Series: Child development in cultural context | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021023954 (print) | LCCN 2021023955 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190654061 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190654085 (epub) | ISBN 9780190654092
Subjects: LCSH: Youth, Romani—Europe—Social conditions. |
Romanies—Europe—Social conditions. | Minority families—Europe. |
Youth development—Europe.
Classification: LCC DX145 .R656 2021 (print) | LCC DX145 (ebook) |
DDC 305.8914/9704—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021023954
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021023955
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190654061.001.0001
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Printed by Integrated Books International, United States of America
To Fons van de Vijver
exceptional mentor and scholar
Contents
Foreword: A Vision for Promoting Positive Development

Among Roma Youth ix
Richard M. Lerner
Contributors xiii
Introduction xv
Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-Wreder
PA RT A T H E C U R R E N T SI T UAT IO N O F R OM A
1. The Roma Context 3
Carmen Buzea and Radosveta Dimitrova
2. How Positive Youth Development Can Support
Low-Income Roma Youth Living in the United States 16
Marija Bingulac
3. Engaging Vulnerable Romani Youth in Provision of
Early Childhood Services 29
Stanislav Daniel
PA RT B T H E O R I E S O N R OM A A DA P TAT IO N
A N D W E L L -B E I N G
4. Actualizing Change with Roma Youth and Their
Communities: Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations 45
Carolyn Cass Lorente and Laura Ferrer-Wreder
5. Roma Youth: Positive Development Despite Challenges 63
Pasquale Musso, Cristiano Inguglia, Michele Mannoia, and
Alida Lo Coco
PA RT C E M P I R IC A L F I N D I N G S O N P O SI T I V E YO U T H
D EV E L O P M E N T A N D W E L L - B E I N G O F R OM A
6. Positive Youth Development: An Empirical
Study of Roma Youth 87
Nora Wiium and Fitim Uka
viii Contents
7. Reframing the Narrative: Revealing Positive Youth

Development in the Self-Descriptions of Roma Adolescents 109
Deborah J. Johnson, Barbara Thelamour, Sudha Sankar, and
Radosveta Dimitrova
8. Associations Between Social Connectedness and Academic
Achievement Among Roma Youth in Eastern Europe 133
Amina Abubakar, Radosveta Dimitrova, Delia Stefenel,
Fitim Uka, Skerdi Zahaj, Paul Murimi, and Fons van de Vijver
9. Youth Development, Education, and Identity: A Case
Study of Attitudes Toward Roma Youth in Hungary 156
Jekatyerina Dunajeva
10. How a Positive Youth Development Framework Can
Improve Lives of Excluded People: The Case of
Low-Income Roma Youth in Serbia 175
Marija Bingulac
11. Out of the Margins: Reflections on Roma and Youth
Development 197
Peter Vermeersch
12. Roma Youth Development in Context: What Next? 207
David L. Sam, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, and Radosveta Dimitrova
Index 221
Foreword
A Vision for Promoting Positive Development
Among Roma Youth
Richard M. Lerner
The study of human development is in the midst of a genuine paradigm

change. Replacing Cartesian notions that generated meta-theories splitting
nature from nurture and that led to reductionist, essentialist, and mecha-
nist models of human behavior and development, a process-relational par-
adigm has come to the fore of developmental science. This paradigm focuses
on process (systematic changes in the developmental system), becoming
(moving from potential to actuality), holism (the meanings of entities and
events derive from the context in which they are embedded), and relational
analysis (assessment of the mutually influential relations within the devel-
opmental system) (Overton, 2015). Within the process-relational paradigm,
the individual is seen as inherently active, self-creating (autopoietic), self-
organizing, self-regulating (agentic), nonlinear and complex, and adaptive
(Overton, 2015).
A relational developmental systems (RDS) meta-theory is derived from
this paradigm, and it emphasizes that the integration of levels of organization
ranging from biology and physiology to culture and history is a means to
describe, explain, and optimize life span human development. Accordingly,
models derived from RDS meta-theory emphasize the course across life of
mutually influential relations between a specific individual and his or her
specific context, represented as individual ↔ context relations; these rela-
tions are the fundamental (basic) process of human development (Lerner,
2018, 2021).
Proponents of RDS-based theories do not deny that there may be nom-
othetic or group/ differential contributions to the variance of human
x Foreword
development. However, because of the dynamic character of each individual’s

co-actions with the specific features of his or her context, priority is given to
first analyzing the idiographic components of a person’s developmental tra-
jectory before attempting to aggregate information across groups or at the
general level (Molenaar & Nesselroade, 2015; Rose, 2016). Consistent with
the Bornstein (2017, 2019) “specificity principle,” proponents of RDS-based
models aim their research at addressing multipart “what” questions, such as
(1) what specific attributes of a person, linked to (2) what specific features
of the multilevel context within which he or she is embedded, at (3) what
points in ontogenetic and historical time, are associated with (4) what devel-
opmental outcomes, in (5) what contexts?
In short, the paradigmatic and meta-theoretical approach to develop-
mental science that is currently at the fore of theoretical and empirical
scholarship places a premium on (a) exploring the course of development
for diverse groups of people and for the individuals within these groups and
on (b) elucidating the course of specific individual ↔ context relations that
are associated with variation in positive development for specific individuals
within these groups. What are the specific opportunities to promote healthy
and productive development across the life spans of these individuals, and
what are the individual ↔ context relations that represent barriers to the op-
timization of the lives of these individuals?
The scholarship included within Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural
Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice
exemplifies the cutting- edge emphasis on diversity- in-
context that
I have described. The editors of this unique, timely, and important volume,
Professors Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-Wreder,
have brought together an impressive group of colleagues who have explored
the bases of positive development, and of constraints and challenges, for a
group of young people, Roma youth, who have remained relatively under-
studied, indeed almost invisible, within the overall literature of develop-
mental science. Moreover, as the Editors note, Roma youth are among the
most marginalized and oppressed minority groups in Europe. By taking a
strengths-based approach to understanding the specific bases for optimizing
the lives of these young people, the contributors to this book are providing
evidence for the opportunities that exist to enhance the lives of this specific
group of young people. In addition, they are also providing the field of de-
velopmental science with a sample case of the fact that all youth—no matter
Foreword xi
how marginalized or how much they are made the target of discriminatory
practices—have strengths. They demonstrate also that, if scientists can iden-
tify the specific resources that need to be coupled with the specific strengths
of specific youth to promote positive developmental pathways, then effective
programs and policies may be created.
As such, the contributions of the scholarship in this book are twofold. New
and innovative information about how to enhance the individual ↔ context
relations of Roma youth is provided to diverse researcher, practitioner, and
policy audiences. This information will be essential for furthering the de-
scription and explanation of the course of the lives of the diversity of Roma
youth and, as well, will be vital for developing new programs and policies
aimed at optimizing their life spans. Second, the contributors to this book
have provided to the developmental science field a profoundly important ex-
ample that human development within the dynamic developmental system
is a relatively plastic phenomenon. By following an RDS-based approach
to research framed by the specificity principle (Bornstein, 2019), develop-
mental scientists and the individuals, families, and communities involved in
their research may be optimistic that means may be found to enhance the in-
dividual ↔ context relations of all youth and increase their chances of living
lives marked by health, hope, and fulfilment.
In short, this book stands as an example of how developmental science
may contribute to social justice. Roma youth and families—and indeed di-
verse youth and families around the world—are therefore in debt to the
scholars who have contributed to this landmark book.
References
Bornstein, M. H. (2017). The specificity principle in acculturation science. Perspectives in
Psychological Science, 12(1), 3–45.
Bornstein, M. H. (2019). Fostering optimal development and averting detrimental devel-
opment: Prescriptions, proscriptions, and specificity. Applied Developmental Science,
23(4), 340–345.
Lerner, R. M. (2018). Concepts and Theories of Human Development (4th ed.). Routledge.
Lerner, R. M. (2021). Individuals as Producers of Their Development: The Dynamics of
Person↔Context Coactions. Routledge.
Molenaar, P. C. M., & Nesselroade, J. R. (2015). Systems methods for developmental re-
search. In W. F. Overton & P. C. Molenaar (Eds.), Theory and Method. Volume 1 of the
Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science (7th ed., pp. 652–682). R.
M. Lerner, Editor-in-chief. Wiley.
xii Foreword
Overton, W. F. (2015). Process and relational developmental systems. In W. F. Overton &

P. C. M. Molenaar (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science,
Volume 1: Theory and Method (7th ed., pp. 9–62). Editor-in-chief, R. M. Lerner. Wiley.
Rose, T. (2016). The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness.
HarperCollins Publishers.
Contributors
Amina Abubakar Richard M. Lerner

Aga Khan University Institute for Applied Research in Youth
Nairobi, Kenya Development
Tufts University
Marija Bingulac
Boston, MA, USA
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Boston, MA, USA Alida Lo Coco
University of Palermo
Carmen Buzea
Palermo, Italy
Transylvania University of Brasov
Brasov, Romania Michele Mannoia
Carolyn Cass Lorente
Palermo, Italy
Northern Virginia Community College
Springfield, VA, USA Paul Murimi
Maseno University
Stanislav Daniel
Kisumu, Kenya
International Step by Step Association
Leiden, The Netherlands Pasquale Musso
Radosveta Dimitrova
Palermo, Italy
Stockholm University
University of Bari
Stockholm, Sweden
Bari, Italy
Jekatyerina Dunajeva
David L. Sam
Pázmány Péter Catholic University
University of Bergen
Budapest, Hungary
Bergen, Norway
Laura Ferrer-Wreder
Sudha Sankar
Stockholm University
Michigan State University
Stockholm, Sweden
East Lansing, MI, USA
Cristiano Inguglia
Delia Stefenel
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
Palermo, Italy
Sibiu, Romania
Deborah J. Johnson
Barbara Thelamour
Michigan State University
Swarthmore College
East Lansing, MI, USA
Swarthmore, PA, USA
xiv Contributors
Fitim Uka Nora Wiium

University of Prishtina “Hasan University of Bergen
Prishtina” Bergen, Norway
Prishtinë, Kosovo
Skerdi Zahaj
Fons van de Vijver University of Tirana
Tilburg University Tirana, Albania
Tilburg, The Netherlands
Peter Vermeersch
KU Leuven University
Leuven, Belgium
Introduction
Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-Wreder
This volume is about positive youth development (PYD) in Roma ethnic mi-
nority youth from a cultural perspective. Its main distinguishing features are
(1) the focus on a large and underrepresented ethnic minority group and
(2) a strength-based conception of adolescence (i.e., PYD) that sees all youth
as having resources (Dimitrova, 2018; Dimitrova & Wiium, 2021a, 2021b).
When such strengths are effectively harnessed, youth become empowered
and the transition to a productive and resourceful adulthood is eased; this
is in contrast to a view of youth as liabilities to society. Skills, active roles,
and enriching cultural contexts are fertile grounds in which empowerment
can take root. Much can be gained by documenting the context of develop-
ment within a marginalized ethnic minority group, such as Roma youth, as
well as through the exploration of approaches that can promote the well-
being of youth by applying a PYD approach (Abubakar & Dimitrova, 2016;
Dimitrova, Johnson, & van de Vijver, 2018; Titzmann, Ferrer-Wreder, &
Dimitrova, 2018). In these ways, this volume presents a knowledge base for
research and practice with Roma youth.
PYD is a new line of research (mainly based in the United States) that has
focused on the strengths of young people, with the aim of better equipping
them for the transition to adulthood (Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder, 2017).
This volume stands apart from current edited books on PYD by focusing
on the Roma ethnic minority (one of the most marginalized and oppressed
minority groups in Europe) and on strengths and resources for optimal
well-being. The international, multidisciplinary, and multisectorial expert
contributors to this book address the complexities of Roma life in a variety of
cultural settings and explore how key developmental processes such as iden-
tity and social interaction in families interact with vital proximal contexts
of development, such as the community and school, and how these person–
context interactions can contribute to optimal and successful adaptation
Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer- Wreder, Introduction In: Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural
Contexts. Edited by: Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Oxford University Press.
© Oxford University Press 2021. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190654061.001.0001
xvi Introduction
(Dimitrova, Buzea et al., 2018; Dimitrova, Musso, et al., 2018, 2016). In our
conclusions, we clarify how the development of ethnic minority children
and youth may be fostered based on the empirical findings reported in this
volume. We draw on core theoretical models of PYD and theories of norma-
tive development from the perspective of developmental science to highlight
the applicability of these frameworks to Roma groups and to highlight po-
tential nuanced cultural variations in how optimal developmental outcomes
may come to pass in adolescence (see Chapter 12). In so doing, we pay careful
attention to the cultural, contextual, and socioeconomic characteristics of
Roma to provide a better understanding of what does and does not con-
tribute to the success of all youth, particularly those in oppressed minority
groups. With its innovative and cutting-edge approaches to cultural, theo-
retical, and methodological concerns, the volume offers up-to-date evidence
and insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers in the fields of
developmental science, human development, cross-cultural psychology, so-
ciology, and social work.
Background
The Roma, Europe’s largest and most vulnerable minority, represent the
fastest growing segment of the European population—currently making up
nearly 12 million people, a figure projected to continue to grow because of
relatively high birth rates in this group (see Chapter 1). Roma youth in par-
ticular are more vulnerable to discrimination, social exclusion, lack of edu-
cational success, and poverty than their non-Roma peers. Relatedly, Roma
encounter important social, cultural, and educational challenges in a number
of societies across Europe and beyond. These challenges have led to increased
attention to Roma families and their children in developmental, educational,
mental health, and political fields, which many consider an overdue devel-
opment in the European context. Roma populations share a history of op-
pression and discrimination with other severely marginalized ethnic groups
around the world and are similarly characterized by strong family, commu-
nity, and peer bonds (Abubakar & Dimitrova, 2016; Chapter 8; Dimitrova,
Ferrer-Wreder, & Trost, 2015; Dimitrova et al., 2017). In contrast to other
minorities, Roma are indigenous, sedentary, and long-term acculturating
groups, thereby creating a unique and underrepresented context in which to
study youth and family development.
Introduction xvii
We set out to explore nuances of such cultural and contextual variations of

Roma youth and families in order to explore and document what is culturally
specific and how more universal developmental processes unfold in under-
studied minority youth and families; this provides a way to inform and test
wider theories of human development by documenting the multiple ways
in which optimal outcomes can be achieved in a unique context (Shweder,
2011). In fact, our current knowledge of resources and positive adaptive
outcomes in children and ethnic minorities is limited. To date, the bulk of
the research on has primarily focused on mental ill-health, socioemotional
problem behaviors, and/or on the lack of academic success. Unfortunately,
most research on these issues takes a deficit- oriented perspective that
merely describes the maladaptive psychological experience of these youth
(Dimitrova, Chasiotis, & van de Vijver, 2016). Additionally, studies have been
limited to the investigation of only a few contexts and groups. Nevertheless,
notable efforts have begun to document positive adaptation, all aimed at
explaining why and under what conditions positive adaptation occurs from
the standpoint of both PYD and resilience perspectives (Abdul Kadir et al.,
2021; Dimitrova, Fernandes, et al., 2021; Manrique-Millones, Pineda Marin,
Millones-Rivalles, & Dimitrova, 2021; Marks, Ejesi, & Garcia Coll, 2014).
The aim of this volume is to advance and disseminate knowledge about
the positive development of Roma youth across a variety of cultural contexts
to provide a basis for the further development of effective interventions and
community support (Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder, 2017). We set out to in-
vestigate developmental processes (e.g., identity, family, community assets)
and optimal outcomes (e.g., positive adaptation, life satisfaction, and aca-
demic achievement) among this oppressed minority group to see if findings
replicate existing developmental models and where the contextual specifics
make a difference. Can PYD be framed in the same way for Roma families
and youth as for other marginalized groups? Perhaps an even more revealing
question is what is it that exactly resonates across diverse youth, and what is
unique in the conceptualization of PYD among Roma youth and their prox-
imal settings? How might these patterns inform the understanding of other
highly marginalized groups in other parts of the world? We attempt to ad-
dress these issues by raising questions of how universal theories of develop-
ment apply to oppressed (Roma) groups and how this may help us interpret
group differences in norms of success and competence.
This edited volume is a timely effort to elucidate key developmental and
contextual processes important to the well-being of youth by outlining both
xviii Introduction
universalities and specifics of development (Wiium & Dimitrova, 2019).

In so doing, it provides theoretical perspectives with supporting empirical
findings to promote a better understanding of and insights into the well-
being of youth. The main subject matter of this volume deals with better
understanding and documenting PYD among Roma youth across various
European and non-European countries.
All proximal developmental contexts of young people (e.g., family, school,
and community) potentially have resources that can be aligned with young
people’s strengths, and this synergy can promote PYD (Lerner et al., 2016).
Attention to how families raise healthy children and how youth develop
skills to be successful adults is timely and necessary for all children, espe-
cially those in a Roma ethnic minority setting. Youth from these families are
often from the lowest social strata, growing up with scarce financial and so-
cial resources and faced with challenges unknown to those from the majority
population. Therefore, research on the positive development of youth from
ethnic minority families is essential in order to identify multiple sources and
pathways of adaptation and well-being through interactions with families,
peers, schools, and communities. We must focus on PYD as a key to under-
standing and explaining healthy psychological development in even the most
challenging of contexts (often typical for many Roma youth), and, when the
chances of positive change are promising, apply this knowledge to other dis-
advantaged minority groups around the world.
Understanding the contemporary Roma context is a challenging task,
which is evidenced by the many gaps in the current literature. On the basis
of empirical studies of factors promoting optimal outcomes and protecting
against the impact of stressful experiences for ethnic minority groups (e.g.,
family obligations, connectedness, community support, identity resources),
it is of critical importance to promote knowledge that can be translated into
applicable interventions with diverse youth (see Chapters 7 and 8). To ad-
dress these issues, new empirical investigations are required. The premise of
this volume is therefore to provide the reader with a better understanding
of the conditions that foster optimal development of Roma youth while
accounting for the mediating/moderating contributions of family, com-
munity, and social and cultural factors. In doing so, this volume addresses
two major issues: (1) the pathways by which youth cope with their cul-
tural, social, and educational challenges and demands and (2) the cultural
and contextual factors that foster well-being and successful adaptation in
Roma youth.
Introduction xix
In addressing these major issues, we refer to “Roma” as a term subsuming

diverse Roma populations, in line with research acknowledging the variety of
identity distinctions within any ethnic group (Park, 2008). We also acknowl-
edge differences among Roma in different countries, their specific local char-
acteristics, and who they might be as individuals. Although the main focus
on this volume is on describing this diverse yet marginalized social group
in its own right—Roma—scholars have also acknowledged the need to in-
clude mainstream or dominant group comparisons (Yuval-Davis, 2006).
This step allows insight into the lived experience of Roma groups as they nav-
igate mainstream contexts. This approach does not support the notion that
the mainstream represents the normative or standard case for development.
Thus, there is a focus on the diversity of Roma groups and what they might
share in common, and, when fitting to the specific research context and ques-
tion, contrast to other non-Roma groups is sometimes made.
Outline
The rich findings presented in this volume across a variety of countries out-
line several key issues to advance knowledge, policy, and practice with ethnic
minority youth more generally. First, although there is ample evidence that
in many areas Roma face a greater risk for problems, some Roma youth do
quite well and rely on important family and community resources in face
of adversity (see Chapters 8, 9, and 10). We need to implement this know-
ledge to inform interventions that foster continued thriving and reduce the
chances of compromised development. Second, the investigation of these
youth (as well as other marginalized ethnic minority groups) needs to move
away from a solely deficit-based perspective and toward an understanding
of the contextual and cultural mechanisms leading to optimal outcomes to
increase a balanced and arguably more realistic sensibility among policy-
makers, practitioners, school staff, and researchers, which can translate into
context-specific actions to promote PYD globally, even in the most disadvan-
taged youth (Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 11). Third, the volume embraces a mixed-
methods approach by applying standard quantitative methods, surveys,
histories, fieldwork, participant observation, and in- depth interviewing
with Roma youth across variety of settings (Chapters 8, 10, and 11). Finally,
this volume presents theoretical perspectives and supporting empirical
findings to promote a better understanding of the positive development and
xx Introduction
well-being of Roma youth through an integrated, multidisciplinary, and

multinational perspective (Chapters 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7).
Part A describes the current situation of Roma and the cultural context in
which they are to be understood. This part makes three major contributions.
First, it provides a brief historical overview of major sociodemographic, cul-
tural, and contextual characteristics of Roma populations across different
countries as a relevant background to present currently available empir-
ical work on Roma children and youth within broader social and cultural
contexts (Chapter 2). Second, by drawing on the PYD framework, the sec-
tion presents a one-of-a-kind comprehensive literature review of what is
known about Roma youth in North America to fill in knowledge gaps on
empirical evidence about Roma in the United States (Chapter 3). Third, the
section is complemented by an overview of policy and program development
pursued for Roma youth in various countries as well as evidence on good
practices and initiatives for Roma (Chapter 4). All these contributions op-
erationalize the PYD framework in discussing the available knowledge on
Roma communities with regards to the relevant practices of policy-makers
and practitioners. The significant contribution of a PYD-based methodology
to research and practice for Roma youth is that it provides a comprehensive
approach to these communities and their children.
Part B presents theories on well-being and adaptation, focusing on the
strengths-based PYD model and traditional frameworks in minority groups,
with a particular emphasis on Roma youth. This section provides a the-
oretical setup for the study of Roma children and youth based on current
definitions and operationalizations of PYD in the fields of human develop-
ment and applied developmental science (Chapter 5). A critical state-of-the-
science overview of the literature on Roma youth and their developmental
trajectories and outcomes and promising future directions for research and
policy on positive development of Roma and other ethnic minority youth
groups are provided (Chapter 6). The contributions of the section illustrate
how the PYD approach has been applied through descriptive and interven-
tion research to other, non-Roma ethnic minority groups and also highlight
needed advances in policy and practice with Roma.
Part C presents empirical findings on PYD and the well-being of Roma
youth across various countries. This section gathers together outstanding
and unique empirical contributions on Roma youth and communities in
a number of countries of settlement, such as Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo,
and Romania (Chapters 7, 8, and 9), Hungary (Chapter 10), and Serbia
Introduction xxi
(Chapter 11). Using quantitative data among Roma youth living in post-
communist countries, this section addresses the question of how positive
outcomes, personal strengths, and contextual resources are experienced
by these youth. By taking these strengths and resources as conceptualized
within the PYD perspective, it also focuses on how Roma youth differ from
mainstream youth with respect to the main and interactive effects of personal
and contextual assets on positive youth outcomes. The set of chapters applies
mixed-methods approaches to the study of PYD among Roma by reporting
their “voices” and narratives in youth everyday experiences (Chapter 8, 10,
and 11). The chapters focus on the notion of identity formation as a core
developmental asset in promoting PYD and optimal development among
youth while also highlighting the need to expand the promotion of the
mechanisms of PYD among Roma. The sampled populations of youth in
these contributions provide a unique opportunity to apply the PYD theoret-
ical framework, developed primarily in the United States with middle-class
youth samples, to explore the extent to which it can be generalized in other
sociocultural settings, such as the Roma who regularly face significant life
challenges. Special attention is devoted to cultural specifics as well as uni-
versal relevance of the findings to human and adolescent development in
other similarly oppressed minority groups. Finally, policy implications and a
discussion on the existing mismatch between Roma needs and governments
inclusion efforts are offered to provide practitioners with suggestions on
improving life conditions for the next generation of Roma from a global
perspective.
All parts are complemented with a chapter 11 on reflections on Roma
youth development and a final concluding chapter 12 that integrates the en-
tire contents of the volume by discussing key implications and future out-
look. Therefore, the volume promises to be highly original and innovative
in three ways. First, insofar as little research has been conducted on Roma
youth, this book enormously increases knowledge about this rapidly growing
and highly stigmatized and disadvantaged population. Second, rather than
using a deficit model, the PYD perspective provides an overarching theo-
retical frame spanning and unifying the various chapters. This novel con-
ceptual frame provides the foundation for a much richer understanding of
the connections between cultural context, community, family, identity, and
thriving among Roma youth. Third, inclusion of studies that focus individu-
ally or comparatively across major countries hosting this minority provides
the opportunity for both a uniquely deep analysis of the Roma situation in a
xxii Introduction
wide range of cultural contexts and for drawing inferences about common-
alities and differences in the experience of Roma across cultures and nations
(Dimitrova, Buzea et al., 2018, 2021; Dimitrova et al., 2017).
The volume contributes enormously to the next generation of PYD
studies by broadening our knowledge of the link between PYD conditions
and optimal outcomes of Roma youth in various countries and regions. In
so doing, there is careful documentation of how contextual and sociopolit-
ical contexts link to well-being of Roma youth, and this can provide both
insights on actions to improve the life conditions and chances of Roma youth
and potential models for the study of other highly disadvantaged ethnic mi-
nority groups (Dimitrova, 2016; Dimitrova, Chasiotis, & van de Vijver, 2016;
Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder, 2017; Dimitrova, Özdemir et al., 2018).
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Roma Minority Youth Across
Cultural Contexts
PART A
THE C U R R E N T SI T UAT ION
OF ROM A
1
The Roma Context
Carmen Buzea and Radosveta Dimitrova
Historical Overview
Roma ethnic minority, also called the Romani people and sometimes gyp-
sies (usually in derogatory way), have one of the most dramatic histories in
Europe and worldwide. The Indian origin of Roma, as advocated by linguists
since the 18th century based on similarities between the Romany language
(referred also as Romanes or Romani) and Sanskrit (Achim, 2004), is now
widely accepted. Although the precise region of the Indian subcontinent
from which Roma originated and migrated to Europe remains elusive, the
genetic, linguistic, historical, and anthropological findings suggest that their
migration started from Central India, to Northern India, transited Persia and
Armenia into the Byzantine Empire and Asia Minor, and finally to Greece
(Kenrick, 2007). The precise time when the journey started is also uncertain.
Historical records indicate that Roma first came to work in Persia at some
time between 224 and 241 ad, and they were either brought or deported
to the Arab Empire at the start of 661, reach Constantinople in 1050, and
were in Greece in 1290. They then continued on to Eastern Europe and
the Balkans (arriving in Serbia in 1348, Croatia in 1362, Bulgaria in 1378,
Romania in 1385), followed by Central and Western Europe (arriving in
Germany in 1407, France and Switzerland in 1418, Belgium in 1419, Holland
in 1420, Italy in 1422, Spain in 1425, Hungary in 1489, and England in 1513;
see Kenrick, 2007, for a comprehensive chronology of Roma history).
As documented by chroniclers of numerous European countries, the his-
tory of Roma is a history of oppression and discrimination. Having the status
of pilgrims, nomads, or travelers, upon arrival in Europe, they were forced
to camp outside city walls and were labeled as “cunning thieves” judged by
their “terrible” appearance, seen as wild people who lacked manners and
were godless (Council of Europe, 2003). The first record of large-scale perse-
cution of Roma is believed to have taken place in 1497, when the Parliament
Carmen Buzea and Radosveta Dimitrova, The Roma Context In: Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts.
Edited by: Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University
Press 2021. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190654061.003.0001
4 Carmen Buzea and Radosveta Dimitrova
in Lindau declared the “Gypsies” outlaws who could be captured and killed.
Living in slavery for hundreds of years, as in Wallachia and Moldavia (today’s
Romania), they were hardly tolerated in the Habsburg-controlled areas,
exiled and imprisoned in Spain, and were subject of forced assimilation in
the Russian Empire. Roma survived from the 16th to the 19th century, when
thousands migrated to the United States, Canada, and Australia (Council
of Europe, 2003). Twentieth-century Europe was not a safe place for Roma.
In Europe at the time, they were targets for genocide and mass executions
during World War II (Heuss et al., 1997). After the war, socialist regimes
across Eastern Europe, either under an ethno-national or post-imperial
policy, were dominated by the sedentarization of Roma. This change was
more intense in Poland and the Soviet Union (where at least two-thirds of
total Roma were nomads or semi-nomads). Sedendarization was less intense
in Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Albania (where itin-
erant Roma varied from one-third of total Roma to less than 5%; Council of
Europe, 2003). These enforced settlements, along with compulsory “integra-
tion” or assimilation policies, had significant effects on Roma ethnic heritage
and strongly diluted their culture during the communist era. Most Central
and Eastern European countries neither officially recognized the Roma cul-
ture nor valued it. Communist policy was to force ethnic minorities to assim-
ilate (Dimitrova & Lebedeva, 2016; Lebedeva, et al., 2018). This was in line
with the mainstream population that was encouraged to adopt the commu-
nist values of one nation-state (Filipescu, 2009).
The first and second waves of Roma migration were those from India to
Europe and from Europe to the United States and Canada, respectively. The
latest wave of Roma migration (i.e., the third wave) started following the
end of communism across Europe. Roma from Eastern Europe migrated to
Central and Western countries, looking for a better life. A thorough anal-
ysis of their acculturation in post-communist Eastern Europe (Dimitrova
& Lebedeva, 2016) showed that, despite legal provisions for free expression
of ethnic, religious, and cultural identity, these countries are still far from
accepting their native minorities as equals. Central and Eastern Europe is
experiencing a long and complex process of democratization, rising na-
tionalism, interethnic hostilities, and negative attitudes and discrimination
toward Roma (Barany, 2001). EU reports and popular literature show that
Roma are still a target group, often blamed for socioeconomic problems
in many Eastern European countries (Brosig, 2010; European Union [EU]
Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2010).
The Roma Context 5
In this context of intense impoverishment and exclusion, large groups of

Roma, in particular those from Romania and Bulgaria, migrated to Western
Europe, mostly after 2007 when the two countries became part of the
European Union. This process has also been subjected to inequality and dis-
crimination, denying Roma migrants’ equality with other European citizens
and reviving tensions signified by public discourses of equal rights for Roma
and the pressure for home countries to keep Roma within their borders
(Nacu, 2011). Today, there are intense efforts to promote a better inclusion
strategy in each European country hosting Roma, as reflected by national
strategies on Roma integration and budgets allocated for these measures. In
2015–2020, around 25% of the European Social Fund is dedicated to social
inclusion measures, with a special focus on integration of marginalized com-
munities such as Roma (European Commission, 2015).
The Roma Culture
Although Roma social and economic living conditions have been ex-
tensively documented, less systematic work has been dedicated to Roma
culture, in part due to the diversity and heterogeneity of Roma communi-
ties. Roma culture scholars have tended to focus on the cultural patterns
of particular communities in Eastern Europe (Barany, 2001), traveling
habits and beliefs that express the separation of Gypsies from non-Gypsies
(Okely, 1983), and history of Roma persecution (Lewy, 1999) or language
(Matras, 2002). Important contributions have been made by scholars from
the University of Graz under the Romani Project, a complex study of Roma
language and culture, which started in early 1990s. Researchers involved
in this project showed that the most visible ethnic markers for Roma com-
munities are language (called Romanes, Romaneh, Roman, Romacilikanes,
etc.), appearance (particularly women’s dress), and occupations (particu-
larly those of men). It was pointed out that Roma community internal or-
ganization is based on close kin and large households, with a large variety of
traditions and codes of practices. The head of the household is by tradition
the paternal figure, usually the oldest man in the extended family (Matras,
2002a, 2002b). From a tender age, children and youth participate in all family
matters (e.g., taking care of younger siblings, helping in domestic work, or
working to support their family). Roma children are also confronted with
the death of family members and allowed to participate in funeral rituals,
thereby having direct learning experience supporting family during the loss
of members (Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder, 2017; Okely, 2008). The institu-
tion of court is also common in many Roma communities, with the role of
mediating internal conflicts without involving outside authorities, making
use of procedures transmitted orally between generations. Displays of wealth
and prosperity (either golden jewelry worn by women or expensive home
decorations or cars) is also frequent in many communities.
Contrary to the general belief of a Roma nomadic lifestyle, contributors
to Graz University’s Romani project (Marushiakova & Popov, 2013) have
argued that, for centuries, Roma lived a sedentary or a semi-nomadic life
(e.g., the case of Romanian Roma who lived as slaves between 14th and 19th
centuries or the case of Greek Roma who made their living during the 12th
century in blacksmithing, caldron-making, and agriculture). Regarding reli-
gion, the tendency of Roma to adhere to the most influential and most pow-
erful religion of the host country is well documented not only by historians,
but also by current census data. However, their religious affiliation (mostly
Christian Orthodox, which is the main religion in Eastern Europe) does
not seem to facilitate their greater acceptance by the majority populations
(Dimitrova & Lebedeva, 2016).
The socialization and education of Roma children is focused on commu-
nity values. At an early age, Roma children are socialized to be self-confident,
be independent, seek and prepare their own food, dress themselves, go to
bed without supervision, and take care of younger siblings (Berthier, 1979;
Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder, 2017). Until puberty, Roma children are usu-
ally free from social responsibilities; traditional gender-assigned roles are
adopted when they reach 10–12 years of age, with boys having more rights
and fewer obligations than girls, while Roma girls are prepared for marriage
and domestic roles, such as cooking, cleaning, and raising children (Berthier,
1979; Sutherland, 1975; Wood, 1973). These traditional gender roles are still
emphasized; Roma girls are often withdrawn from school by their families
by the age of 12–13 to protect them from losing their virginity, a subject of
great importance, which may expose a girl and her family to social rejection
and gossip within the community (Kyuchukov, 2011). We can conclude that,
based on these cultural markers, strong family, community, and peer bonds
along with mutual solidarity, obligation to lend support, and respect for sen-
iority, might be cultural resources and key ecologies to promote an optimal,
strengths-based approach to Roma, with a special emphasis on younger
generations.
The Roma Context 7
Sociodemographics and Roma Integration Strategy
Due to their long history of impoverishment and low social standing, Roma
are presently among the most disadvantaged and discriminated ethnic groups
in the contemporary world (United Nations Committee on the Elimination
of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, 2000). There are close to 12 mil-
lion Roma living in Europe, a figure 10 times greater than the official data
(Csepeli & Simon, 2004). Reasons that Roma do not declare their ethnicity
include fear of marginalization and stigmatization, lack of understanding of
ethnicity issues, and ethnic identity dissolution or loss (Clark, 1998; Csepeli
& Simon, 2004). As shown by a study on Roma identification conducted
in Romania, the difference between the number of population classified as
Roma by public administration experts (teachers, social workers, policemen,
public servants) and the number of population self-identified as Roma is
three times bigger (Buzea & Dimitrova, 2016). This significant difference re-
garding the size of the Roma population has implications when discussing
social inclusion programs and financial resources under the funding mech-
anism of the European Union. The size of this group becomes salient in the
light of eligibility to access financial resources for the benefit of Roma, and
local authorities (entitled to apply for funding) must require reliable data on
Roma population size (Buzea & Dimitrova, 2016).
The current state of extreme poverty of Roma, lack of resources and ed-
ucation, and poor health, as well as intense prejudice, intolerance, and so-
cial exclusion are well documented by both EU reports and the literature
(e.g., European Commission, 2015; Ringold et al., 2005). Roma integration
in Europe is considered a joint responsibility, with some steps taken, but
many others steps still needed (European Commission, 2016). Table 2.1
presents basic socioeconomic indicators for Roma across Europe, based on
two large surveys carried out in 2011 by the United Nations Development
Program: one survey conducted by the World Bank and the European
Commission (UNDP/WB/EC, 2011) and the second survey conducted by
the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) with collaboration of experts
from the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and the World Bank
(EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2011).
There is strong agreement that social inclusion of Roma is a global priority
in the light of statistical data showing that Roma citizens “are more likely to
live in poverty, have a higher risk of unemployment, stay in school for fewer
years, live without access to drinking water, sanitation and electricity, and
Table 2.1 Socioeconomic indicators for Roma and non-Roma across Europe
Youth Relative poverty

(16–24 years) General (16+) Unemployment rate Access to medical rate (60% equalized
Roma population literacy rate (%) literacy rate (%) (15–64) (%) insurance (%) median income) (%)
Country Census Council of Europe Roma Non-Roma Roma Non-Roma Roma Non-Roma Roma Non-Roma Roma Non-Roma
estimatesb
Albania 1,261 120,000 65 95 65 95 23 18 32 54 n/a n/a

Bulgaria 325,343 750,000 89 99 87 99 40 20 48 85 81 40
Croatia 9,463 35,000 96 99 84 99 65 23 82 97 92 42
Czech Republic 11,718 200,000 99 100 97 100 39 6 93 98 71 22
Francea n/a 400,000 86 100 75 100 39 15 95 99 97 28
Greecea n/a 175,000 65 97 48 99 51 25 60 95 88 49
Italy n/a 150,000 96 100 83 100 71 22 81 81 97 35
Hungary 190,046 750,000 99 100 95 99 50 24 94 97 71 33
Moldova 12,271 107,100 74 100 69 99 37 20 38 74 73 40
Montenegro 8,305 20,000 77 100 73 99 56 49 89 99 88 46
Polanda 12,731 32,500 98 100 86 100 75 37 91 98 81 45
Portugala n/a 52,000 90 98 65 92 69 32 98 98 97 67
Romania 619,007 1,850,000 80 98 75 97 33 18 52 81 54 13
Serbia 108,193 600,000 90 99 85 98 49 27 93 93 78 35
Slovakia 89,920 490,000 98 100 97 100 70 33 94 97 87 45
Spaina n/a 750,000 99 100 87 97 59 41 99 99 90 67
a Investigated non-Roma population leaving nearby Roma communities.
b European Commission, 2014; Roma Integration—2014 Commission Assessment: Questions and Answers, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-249_en.htm
Sources: UNDP/WB/EC Regional Roma Survey, 2011; European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), 2011.
The Roma Context 9
live in substandard, overcrowded homes. Roma are more likely to suffer from
chronic illness and have less access to health services” (UNDP in Europe and
Central Asia, 2011, para. 1). A high birth rate (e.g., in Romania, the Roma
birth rate is double the national average), along with high mortality and a
considerably shorter life expectancy compared to the non-Roma population
(European Commission, 2014), is other evidence of the current precarious
situation of Roma across Europe.
Within this unfavorable general context, Roma children and youth are
the group most exposed to social exclusion and discrimination. The survey
conducted by the FRA in 11 EU countries with significant Roma popula-
tion (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain) showed that, on average, only one
out of two Roma children surveyed attend preschool or kindergarten, and
only 15% of young Roma adults surveyed complete upper secondary ge-
neral or vocational education (EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2012).
The same report pointed out alarming rates of experienced discrimination
among youth based on ethnic background (46% of Roma aged 16–24 years
felt discriminated against in the past year prior the survey, compared with
only 4% of non-Roma), while 18% of respondents who had contact with
educational institutions experienced discrimination with people working
in the educational sector. Structural discrimination against Roma children
is widespread across Europe in the form of segregated education, either as
interschool segregation (i.e., Roma-only schools), intraschool segregation
(i.e., Roma-only classes), or intraclass segregation (Roma-only study groups;
European Union, 2014). Furthermore, lack of Romani teaching materials,
substandard schools and curricula, and harassment from peers or teachers,
are factors that may discourage Roma families from enrolling their children
in integrated schools, as well as encouraging a more general distancing from
school, leading to high rates of absenteeism and drop-out. All these figures
have led to more intense effort at international and European levels to pro-
mote a better inclusion strategy, finance more tangible measures, and secure
the fundamental rights of Roma living in Europe and worldwide. Thus, in
2011, the European Union adopted a strategic document (the EU framework
for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020), followed by subse-
quent national Roma integration strategies proposed by each EU Member
State. Since 2012, the European Commission carries out annual assessments
on progress made on effective Roma integration measures by each EU and
enlargement country (i.e., Turkey and countries from the Western Balkans).
However, despite some positive progress on education, public participation

of Roma youth, and legislative reforms, there is tremendous work to be done
and serious challenges to be navigated (such as fighting anti-Roma discrim-
ination, residential and educational segregation, and prevention of forced
evictions; European Commission, 2016).
Universalities and Specifics of Roma Youth
In the light of evidence which shows that far too many Roma children and
youth live on the margins of society with very limited opportunities to
achieve their potential, traditional approaches to Roma youth social inclu-
sion and integration might be questioned. The prevalent conceptual approach
in studies of Roma children and adolescents has been a deficit-oriented one,
emphasizing limited access to education, school-related difficulties, mental
health issues, and a variety of developmental delays (Dimitrova & Ferrer-
Wreder, 2017). However, in the overall literature on ethnic minority youth,
resource-oriented models are gradually replacing or complementing the def-
icit perspectives (Abdul Kadir et al., 2021; Dimitrova et al., 2021; Manrique-
Millones et al., 2021), defining optimal and positive adaptation in terms of
resources and strengths both at individual and context levels (Dimitrova,
2018; Dimitrova & Wiium, 2021a, 2021b; Garcia Coll & Marks, 2009;
Masten, 2014). This emerging approach is particularly valuable for Roma
youth, acknowledging that oppressed youth minorities have unexplored
potentials and strengths on which we can build, rather than assuming that
they are characterized only by adversity and deficits (Titzmann et al., 2018;
Wiium & Dimitrova, 2019). Following through with this promising new per-
spective on Roma children and adolescents is not without its challenges. First
is the limited empirical and culturally informed research on Roma youth due
to difficulties in accessing these severely marginalized communities (Prieto-
Flores, 2009). The reluctance of many Roma to declare their ethnicity and
participate in research is due to mistrust in official statistics and fear of stig-
matization and discrimination (Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder, 2017). Second,
defining optimal and positive adaptation of Roma youth in terms of psy-
chological well-being, life satisfaction, positive affect, school success, social
competence, productive social relationships, interactions within a broader
sociocultural context, and other strengths calls for integrated multidiscipli-
nary perspectives on development and adjustment (Stuart & Rövid, 2010).
Third, there is a gap between research and key policy-making audiences
The Roma Context 11
despite the widespread assumption that science has an important role in

guiding responses to complex social problems and effective policy and prac-
tice (see Introduction and Chapter 12; Shonkoff & Bales, 2011).
Although research on Roma intensified in the past two decades, few
results were used to inform policy decisions on youth development and ap-
propriate and effective school initiatives and community actions for children
and adolescents in general and Roma youth in particular (Dimitrova, Ferrer-
Wreder, & Âhlèn, 2018). A core topic when investigating the universalities
and specifics of Roma youth is the multiple and flexible ethnic identities
of this particular group, which is encountered in a variety of accultura-
tion contexts (Dimitrova, Buzea et al., 2018; Dimitrova, Johnson, & van de
Vijver, 2018; Dimitrova et al., 2016; Dimitrova, Musso et al., 2018). Theory
and research have shown that identity is a self-regulatory construct with
different psychological functions (see Chapter 7); it gives a sense of struc-
ture, provides a sense of harmony, gives a future orientation, shapes personal
goals and life direction, and provides a sense of personal control (Adams
& Marshall, 1996; Crocetti et al., 2012). “Ethnic identity” was defined as a
process of maintaining positive distinctiveness and feelings associated with
a sense of ethnic group belonging (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Previous re-
search with Roma samples found that ethnic identity is positively related
to psychological well-being and adjustment (Dimitrova et al., 2013, 2014).
Studies on intergenerational transmission that investigated Roma mothers
and fathers point out that ethnic identity can act as a positive predictor of
well-being in both adolescents and their parents (Dimitrova et al., 2015).
On the other hand, research on acculturation showed that in a highly op-
pressive host society ethnic minority groups may prefer adjustment to the
mainstream culture (Dimitrova et al., 2014) because ethnic heritage iden-
tity does not provide a source of strength for social adjustment (Dimitrova &
Lebedeva, 2016). Thus, Roma may not value integration or being “bicultural”
and instead prefer assimilation with their host cultures as the most benefi-
cial acculturative strategy for their success in these cultures (Dimitrova et al.,
2014). As pointed out by Dolgozat (2013), Roma youth with multiple or flex-
ible ethnic identities are more likely to be successful in school and in society
at large than those who do not evidence such identity patterns. In the light
of these mixed results on Roma ethnic identity and acculturation, future re-
search is needed to provide knowledge-based guidance for effective policy
and practice.
Based on these considerations, it can be concluded that investigating
Roma youth, an ethnic group with unique cultural and demographic
characteristics, is particularly valuable for several reasons. First, it has the

potential of wider applicability for other marginalized and oppressed ethnic
groups in Europe and worldwide. Second, research findings can be trans-
lated into policy and practice, building on internal assets (commitment to
learning, positive values, social competencies, positive identity) and external
assets (support, empowerment, expectations) for a better social inclusion
strategy across Europe. Third, Roma have lived in Europe for centuries and
represent a sizable and fastest growing ethnic minority population with an in-
creasingly relevant role in the future of Europe (Dimitrova & Ferrer-Wreder,
2017). It is therefore a shared responsibility to contribute to a deeper under-
standing of this culturally diverse and socially vulnerable youth for positive
development of new generations (see Chapter 8; Abubakar & Dimitrova,
2016; Dimitrova, 2016).
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2
How Positive Youth Development
Can Support Low-Income Roma Youth
Living in the United States
Marija Bingulac*
This chapter highlights the promise of using a positive youth development

(PYD) approach to support the integration and development of Roma youth
who migrate to the United States with their families. Deprivation and dis-
crimination, including the destruction of housing settlements, forced
evictions, and persistent violence—all of which have gotten worse since the
end of communism in Eastern Europe—led a portion of Europe’s 12 mil-
lion Roma to seek refuge in the United States and Canada (Rorke, 2013). On
the 2000 US census long-form, 10,036 people stated “Roma” as their ances-
tral identity. However, because Roma do not have a state, most often, they
identify with the nationality of the country from which they migrated—as
Serbians, Hungarians, etc. (Ackovic, 2012; Milligan, 2013). Approximately
1 million Roma live in the United States, and 80,000 Roma currently live
in Canada (Lee, 1998; Sevcenko, 2011). Since 1989, Roma migration to
the United States has remained steady, fueled by the European Union’s re-
luctance to award asylum protection to citizens of other EU nations (Roma
Community Centre, 2012). For Roma families, a move out of Europe can be
a chance for their children to live a better life while being free to maintain
their Roma identity. Many Roma parents know that staying in their home
countries would mean that their sons and daughters would likely continue to
be stigmatized and denied educational opportunities because of their Roma
identities (Abubakar & Dimitrova, 2016; Dimitrova, 2016; Dimitrova, Musso
et al., 2016, 2018; Dimitrova et al., 2017).
* The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Boston or the Federal Reserve System
Marija Bingulac, How Positive Youth Development Can Support Low-Income Roma Youth Living in the United States
In: Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts. Edited by: Radosveta Dimitrova, David L. Sam, and Laura Ferrer-
Wreder, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2021. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190654061.003.0002
PYD and Low-Income Roma Youth in the USA 17
Since 2012, the number of Roma seeking asylum in the United States has
increased, partially as a consequence of Canada’s new and more stringent im-
migration policy that has resulted in low acceptance rates of Roma to Canada
(Levy-Ajzenkopf, 2013; Etter & Nash, 2016). Included in President Obama’s
comprehensive immigration reform efforts are measures to protect refugees
as well as strengthen due process and expand the country’s approach to
detention—all of which have deep implications for Roma families and youth
in the United States who hope to gain refugee or asylum status in the midst of
the current global refugee crisis. The fate of refugees and asylum seekers has
become increasingly indefinite given how divided the United States is on the
issue of accepting refugees (Summers, 2016).
Profound experiences of injustice in their home countries may lead Roma
in the United States to feel that they must keep their lives hidden from main-
stream society, to remain invisible (Milligan, 2013). Thus, the cycle of invis-
ibility that was the norm in their home countries may continue, for better or
worse, once they arrive in the United States. Roma as an ethnic identifier is
rarely included as an option in American surveys. Research about the well-
being of Roma youth and families in the United States is scarce. There is no
research on socioeconomic outcomes for Roma youth in the United States,
and only one study on Roma refugee youth in Canada (Walsh et al., 2011).
With the general lack of knowledge about this group, research about Roma,
particularly the strengths of Roma youth and their families in the United
States, is very much needed. While much more needs to be known, the goal
of this chapter is to highlight promising ideas from the PYD approach that
may aid caseworkers, educators, and nonprofit organizations to engage with
and better the life conditions of Roma youth who are immigrants to the
United States.
Roma in the United States
Roma are arguably the most misunderstood and highly stereotyped group
of people in the world (Ackovic, 2012; Walsh et al., 2011; see Chapter 1 in
this volume). There are myriad ways in which the Roma people bear dispro-
portionate burdens because of the stigma that their identity carries. Some
are visible, such as poverty, while others are better hidden and thus, more
acceptable. The name “Roma,” “Romani,” and “Romanies” is used inter-
changeably. The word “Gypsy,” however, is a racial slur to most of the Roma
18 Marija Bingulac
population and their allies (Bingulac, 2015). It is a word that carries nega-
tive connotations of being lazy and dirty, and cheating people, and it falsely
attributes Roma origin to Egypt, whereas Roma origins are actually in the
Indian subcontinent (Ackovic, 2012). There are no official data on when the
Roma left India, although some researchers claim that this happened be-
tween the 10th and 13th centuries (Ackovic, 2012). The term “Gypsy” is an
exonym, name imposed on the Roma by outsiders. The word “Rom” means
“human,” and it is the currently accepted way of referring to this population
(Hancock, 1997, 2010). To the dismay of many in the field of Roma rights, the
exonym “Gypsy” is still widely used despite efforts to substitute it, resulting
in the perpetuation of derogatory stereotypes.
Many Roma continue to keep ancestral traditions that are rooted in their
identity, kinship, and community practices even as they live in mainstream
American society (Sutherland, 2016). The majority of all Roma in the United
States are a part of two subgroups of Roma: the Kalderasha who migrated
from Europe and Russia, and Machwaya who migrated from the Balkans and
the former Yugoslavian region (Sutherland, 2016). The largest share of the
Kalderasha Roma are settled in New York City, Chicago, and Forth Worth,
Texas (Hancock, 2010), while many of the Machwaya are settled in the San
Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas (Gropper & Miller, 2001; Hancock,
2008). Of the two groups, the Machwaya Roma tend to be more assimilated,
send their children to school, and pay taxes, while the Kalderasha Roma are
likely to actively resist assimilation or integration (Silverman, 2012). The
Kalderasha Roma tend to be self-employed, marry early, and be distrustful of
sites of majority socioeconomic activity, such as schools (Silverman, 2012).
Most Roma who emigrated from Hungary moved to Canada—the Toronto,
Ontario region (Walsh et al., 2011). Since the wars that led to the breakup of
Yugoslavia, those Roma who entered the United States are particularly sus-
ceptible to exclusion because they may not speak English and have a lack of
supporting communities that could help them assimilate or integrate (Walsh
et al., 2011; Webley, 2010).
The experiences of discrimination in their home countries continue to
shape Roma experiences in the United States. However, the Roma have also
been discriminated against even in the United States. For example, a state
law in New Jersey that was in force between 1917 and 1998 allowed local
governments to legislate where Roma people could rent and what they could
sell (Webley, 2010). As a result “many [Roma] were raised with warnings not
to tell others of their ethnic identity, and so they remain a hidden ingredient
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
THE TWO GIRLS STEPPED OUT OF THE ELEVATOR AND
FOUND GARRY KNAPP WAITING FOR THEM.
Dorothy Dale’s Engagement Page 41
“First National Bank of Womankind,” she cried gaily. “I always

carry it there in case of accident—being run over, robbed, or an
earthquake. But that five dollars is all I own. Oh, dear! I wish I had
stuffed the whole roll into my stocking.”
“Don’t, Tavia! it’s not ladylike.”
“I don’t care. Pockets are out of style again,” pouted her friend.
“And, anyway, you must admit that this was a stroke of genius, for I
would otherwise be without a penny.”
However, Tavia was too kind-hearted, as well as light-hearted, to
allow her loss to cloud the day for Dorothy. She was just as
enthusiastic in the afternoon in helping her friend select the goods
she wished to buy as though all the “pretties” were for herself.
They came home toward dusk, tired enough, and lay down for an
hour—“relaxing as per instructions of Lovely Lucy Larriper, the
afternoon newspaper statistician,” Tavia said.
“Why ‘statistician’?” asked Dorothy, wonderingly.
“Why! isn’t she a ‘figger’ expert?” laughed Tavia. “Now relax!”
A brisk bath followed and then, at seven, the two girls stepped out
of the elevator into the lobby of the hotel and found Garry Knapp
waiting for them. He was likewise well tubbed and scrubbed, but he
did not conform to city custom and wear evening dress. Indeed,
Dorothy could not imagine him in the black and severe habiliments of
society.
“Not that his figure would not carry them well,” she thought. “But
he would somehow seem out of place. Some of his breeziness and
—and—yes!—his nice kind of ‘freshness’ would be gone. That gray
business suit becomes him and so does his hat.”
But, of course, the hat was not in evidence at present. The captain
of the waiters had evidently expected this party, for he beckoned
them to a retired table the moment the trio entered the long dining-
room.
“How cozy!” exclaimed Dorothy. “You must have what they call a
‘pull’ with people in authority, Mr. Knapp.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Why, you can get the best table in the dining-room, and this
morning you rescued us from trouble through your acquaintanceship
with Mr. Schuman.”
“The influence of the Almighty Dollar,” said Garry Knapp, briefly.
“This morning I had just spent several hundred dollars of Bob
Douglass’ good money in that store. And here at this hotel Bob’s
name is as good as a gold certificate.”
“Oh, money! money!” groaned Tavia, “what crimes are committed
in thy name—and likewise, what benefits achieved! I wonder what
the person who stole it is doing with my money?”
“Perhaps it was somebody who needed it more than you do,” said
Dorothy, rather quizzically.
“Can’t be such a person. And needy people seldom find money.
Besides, needy folk are always honest—in the books. I’m honest
myself, and heaven knows I’m needy!”
“Was it truly all the money you had with you?” asked Garry Knapp,
commiseratingly.
“Honest and true, black and blue, lay me down and cut me in two!”
chanted Tavia.
“All but the five dollars in the bank,” Dorothy said demurely, but
with dancing eyes.
And for once Tavia actually blushed and was silenced—for a
moment. Garry drawled:
“I wonder who did get your bag, Miss Travers? Of course, there
are always light-fingered people hanging about a store like that.”
“And the money will be put to no good use,” declared the loser,
dejectedly. “If the person finding it would only found a hospital—or
something—with it, I’d feel a lot better. But I know just what will
happen.”
“What?” asked Dorothy.
“The person who took my bag will go and blow themselves to a
fancy dinner—oh! better even than this one. I only hope he or she
will eat so much that they will be sick——”
“Don’t! don’t!” begged Dorothy, stopping her ears. “You are
dreadfully mixed in your grammar.”
“Do you wonder? After having been robbed so ruthlessly?”
“But, certainly, dear,” cooed Dorothy, “your knowledge of grammar
was not in your bag, too?”
Thus they joked over Tavia’s tragedy; but all the time Dorothy’s
agile mind was working hard to scheme out a way to help her chum
over this very, very hard place.
Just at this time, however, she had to give some thought to Garry
Knapp. He took out three slips of pasteboard toward the end of the
very pleasant meal and flipped them upon the cloth.
“I took a chance,” he said, in his boyish way. “There’s a good show
down the street—kill a little time. Vaudeville and pictures. Good
seats.”
“Oh, let’s!” cried Tavia, clasping her hands.
Dorothy knew that the theatre in question was respectable
enough, although the entertainment was not of the Broadway class.
But she knew, too, that this young man from the West probably could
not afford to pay two dollars or more for a seat for an evening’s
pleasure.
“Of course we’ll be delighted to go. And we’d better go at once,”
Dorothy said, without hesitation. “I’m ready. Are you, Tavia?”
“You dear!” whispered Tavia, squeezing her arm as they followed
Garry Knapp from the dining-room. “I never before knew you to be
so amenable where a young man was concerned.”
“Is that so?” drawled Dorothy, but hid her face from her friend’s
sharp eyes.
It was late, but a fine, bright, dry evening when the trio came out of
the theatre and walked slowly toward their hotel. On the block in the
middle of which the Fanuel was situated there were but few
pedestrians. As they approached the main entrance to the hotel a
girl came slowly toward them, peering, it seemed, sharply into their
faces.
She was rather shabbily dressed, but was not at all an unattractive
looking girl. Dorothy noticed that her passing glance was for Garry
Knapp, not for herself or for Tavia. The young man had half dropped
behind as they approached the hotel entrance and was saying:
“I think I’ll take a brisk walk for a bit, having seen you ladies home
after a very charming evening. I feel kind of shut in after that theatre,
and want to expand my lungs.”
“Good-night, then, Mr. Knapp,” Dorothy said lightly. “And thank you
for a pleasant evening.”
“Ditto!” Tavia said, hiding a little yawn behind her gloved fingers.
The girls stepped toward the open door of the hotel. Garry Knapp
wheeled and started back the way they had come. Tavia clutched
her chum’s arm with excitement.
“Did you see that girl?”
“Why—yes,” Dorothy said wonderingly.
“Look back! Quick!”
Impelled by her chum’s tone, Dorothy turned and looked up the
street. Garry Knapp had overtaken the girl. The girl looked sidewise
at him—they could see her turn her head—and then she evidently
spoke. Garry dropped into slow step with her, and they strolled
along, talking eagerly.
“Why, he must know her!” gasped Tavia.
“Why didn’t he introduce her then?” Dorothy said shortly. “It serves
me right.”
“What serves you right?”
“For allowing you, as well as myself, to become so familiar with a
strange man.”
“Oh!” murmured Tavia, slowly. “It’s not so bad as all that. You’re
making a mountain out of a molehill.”
But Dorothy would not listen.
CHAPTER VI
SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY
Tavia slept her usually sweet, sound sleep that night, despite the
strange surroundings of the hotel and the happenings of a busy day;
but Dorothy lay for a long time, unable to close her eyes.
In the morning, however, she was as deep in slumber as ever her
chum was when a knock came on the door of their anteroom. Both
girls sat up and said in chorus:
“Who’s there?”
“It’s jes’ me, Missy,” said the soft voice of the colored maid. “Did
one o’ youse young ladies lost somethin’?”
“Oh, mercy me, yes!” shouted Tavia, jumping completely out of her
bed and running toward the door.
“Nonsense, Tavia!” admonished Dorothy, likewise hopping out of
bed. “She can’t have found your money.”
“Oh! what is it, please?” asked Tavia, opening the door just a trifle.
“Has you lost somethin’?” repeated the colored girl.
“I lost my handbag in a store yesterday,” said Tavia.
“Das it, Missy,” chuckled the maid. “De clark, he axed me to ax yo’
’bout it. It’s done come back.”
“What’s come back?” demanded Dorothy, likewise appearing at
the door and in the same dishabille as her friend.
“De bag. De clark tol’ me to tell yo’ ladies dat all de money is safe
in it, too. Now yo’ kin go back to sleep again. He’s done got de bag
in he’s safe;” and the girl went away chuckling.
Tavia fell up against the door and stared at Dorothy.
“Oh, Doro! Can it be?” she panted.
“Oh, Tavia! What luck!”
“There’s the telephone! I’m going to call up the office,” and Tavia
darted for the instrument on the wall.
But there was something the matter with the wires; that was why
the clerk had sent the maid to the room.
“Then I’m going to dress and go right down and see about it,”
Tavia said.
“But it’s only six o’clock,” yawned Dorothy. “The maid was right.
We should go back to bed.”
Her friend scorned the suggestion and she fairly “hopped” into her
clothes.
“Be sure and powder your nose, dear,” laughed Dorothy. “But I am
glad for you, Tavia.”
“Bother my nose!” responded her friend, running out of her room
and into the corridor.
She whisked back again before Dorothy was more than half
dressed with the precious bag in her hands.
“Oh, it is! it is!” she cried, whirling about Dorothy’s room and her
own and the bath and anteroom, in a dervish dance of joy. “Doro!
Doro! I’m saved!”
“I don’t know whether you are saved or not, dear. But you plainly
are delighted.”
“Every penny safe.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes. I counted. I had to sign a receipt for the clerk, too. He is
the dearest man.”
“Well, dear, I hope this will be a lesson to you,” Dorothy said.
“It will be!” declared the excited Tavia. “Do you know what I am
going to do?”
“Spend your money more recklessly than ever, I suppose,” sighed
her friend.
“Say! seems to me you’re awfully glum this morning. You’re not
nice about my good luck—not a bit,” and Tavia stared at her in
puzzlement.
“Of course I’m delighted that you should recover your bag,”
Dorothy hastened to say. “How did it come back?”
“Why, the clerk gave it to me, I tell you.”
“What clerk? The one at the silk counter?”
“Goodness! The hotel clerk downstairs.”
“But how did he come by it?”
Tavia slowly sat down and blinked. “Why—why,” she said, “I didn’t
even think to ask him.”
“Well, Tavia!” exclaimed Dorothy, rather aghast at this admission of
her flyaway friend.
“I do seem to have been awfully thoughtless again,” admitted
Tavia, slowly. “I thanked him—the clerk, I mean! Oh, I did! I could
have kissed him!”
“Tavia!”
“I could; but I didn’t,” said the wicked Tavia, her eyes sparkling
once more. “But I never thought to ask how he came by it. Maybe
some poor person found it and should be rewarded. Should I give a
tithe of it, Doro, as a reward, as we give a tithe to the church? Let’s
see! I had just eighty-nine dollars and thirty-seven cents, and an old
copper penny for a pocket-piece. One-tenth of that would be——”
“Do be sensible!” exclaimed Dorothy, rather tartly for her. “You
might at least have asked how the bag was sent here—whether by
the store itself, or by some employee, or brought by some outside
person.”
“Goodness! if it were your money would you have been so
curious?” demanded Tavia. “I don’t believe it. You would have been
just as excited as I was.”
“Perhaps,” admitted Dorothy, after a moment. “Anyway, I’m glad
you have it back, dear.”
“And do you know what I am going to do? I am going to take that
old man’s advice.”
“What old man, Tavia?”
“That Mr. Schuman—the head of the big store. I am going to go
out right after breakfast and buy me a dog chain and chain that bag
to my wrist.”
Dorothy laughed at this—yet she did not laugh happily. There was
something wrong with her, and as soon as Tavia began to quiet
down a bit she noticed it again.
“Doro,” she exclaimed, “I do believe something has happened to
you!”
“What something?”
“I don’t know. But you are not—not happy. What is it?”
“Hungry,” said Dorothy, shortly. “Do stop primping now and come
on down to breakfast.”
“Well, you must be savagely hungry then, if it makes you like this,”
grumbled Tavia. “And it is an hour before our usual breakfast time.”
They went down in the elevator to the lower floor, Tavia carrying
the precious bag. She would not trust it out of her sight again, she
said, as long as a penny was left in it.
She attempted to go over to the clerk’s desk at the far side of the
lobby to ask for the details of the recovery of her bag; but there were
several men at the desk and Dorothy stopped her.
“Wait until he is more at leisure,” she advised Tavia. “And until
there are not so many men about.”
“Oh, nonsense!” ejaculated Tavia, but she turned to follow Dorothy.
Then she added: “Ah, there is one you won’t mind speaking to——”
“Where?” cried Dorothy, stopping instantly.
“Going into the dining-room,” said Tavia.
Dorothy then saw the gray back of Garford Knapp ahead of them.
She turned swiftly for the exit of the hotel.
“Come!” she said, “let’s get a breath of air before breakfast. It—it
will give us an appetite!” And she fairly dragged Tavia to the
sidewalk.
“Well, I declare to goodness!” volleyed Tavia, staring at her. “And
just now you were as hungry as a bear. And you still seem to have a
bear’s nature. How rough! Don’t you want to see that young man?”
“Never!” snapped Dorothy, and started straight along toward the
Hudson River.
Tavia was for the moment silenced. But after a bit she asked slyly:
“You’re not really going to walk clear home, are you, dear? North
Birchland is a long, long walk—and the river intervenes.”
Dorothy had to laugh. But her face almost immediately fell into
very serious lines. Tavia, for once, considered her chum’s feelings.
She said nothing regarding Garry Knapp.
“Well,” she murmured. “I need no appetite—no more than I have.
Aren’t you going to eat at all this morning, Dorothy?”
“Here is a restaurant; let us go in,” said her friend promptly.
They did so, and Dorothy lingered over the meal (which was
nowhere as good as that they would have secured at the Fanuel)
until she was positive that Mr. Knapp must have finished his own
breakfast and left the hotel.
In fact, they saw him run out and catch a car in front of the hotel
entrance while they were still some rods from the door. Dorothy at
once became brisker of movement, hurrying Tavia along.
“We must really shop to-day,” she said with decision. “Not merely
look and window-shop.”
“Surely,” agreed Tavia.
“And we’ll not come back to luncheon—it takes too much time,”
Dorothy went on, as they hurried into the elevator. “Perhaps we can
get tickets for that nice play Ned and Nat saw when they were down
here last time. Then, if we do, we will stay uptown for dinner——”
“Mercy! All that time in the same clothes and without the
prescribed ‘relax’?” groaned Tavia. “We’ll look as though we had
been ground between the upper and the nether millstone.”
“Well——”
They had reached their rooms. Tavia turned upon her and
suddenly seized Dorothy by both shoulders, looking accusingly into
her friend’s eyes.
“I know what you are up to. You are running away from that man.”
“Oh! What——”
“Never mind trying to dodge the issue,” said Tavia, sternly. “That
Garry Knapp. And it seems he must be a pretty nappy sort, sure
enough. He probably knew that girl and was ashamed to have us
see him speaking to one so shabby. Now! what do you care what he
does?”
“I don’t,” denied Dorothy, hotly. “I’m only ashamed that we have
been seen with him. And it is my fault.”
“I’d like to know why?”
“It was unnecessary for us to have become so friendly with him
just because he did us a favor.”
“Yes—but——”
“It was I. I did it,” said Dorothy, almost in tears. “We should never
allow ourselves to become acquainted with strangers in any such
way. Now you see what it means, Tavia. It is not your fault—it is
mine. But it should teach you a lesson as well as me.”
“Goodness!” said the startled Tavia. “I don’t see that it is anything
very terrible. The fellow is really nothing to us.”
“But people having seen us with him—and then seeing him with
that common-acting girl——”
“Pooh! what do we care?” repeated Tavia. “Garry Knapp is nothing
to us, and never would be.”
Dorothy said not another word, but turned quickly away from her
friend. She was very quiet while they made ready for their shopping
trip, and Tavia could not arouse her.
Careless and unobservant as Tavia was, anything seriously the
matter with her chum always influenced her. She gradually
“simmered down” herself, and when they started forth from their
rooms both girls were morose.
As they passed through the lobby a bellhop was called to the
desk, and then he charged after the two girls.
“Please, Miss! Which is Miss Dale?” he asked, looking at the letter
in his hand.
Dorothy held out her hand and took it. It was written on the hotel
stationery, and the handwriting was strange to her. She tore it open
at once. She read the line or two of the note, and then stopped,
stunned.
“What is it?” asked Tavia, wonderingly.
Dorothy handed her the note. It was signed “G. Knapp” and read
as follows:
“Dear Miss Dale:

“Did your friend get her bag and money all right?”
CHAPTER VII
GARRY SEES A WALL AHEAD
“Why, what under the sun! How did he come to know about it?”
demanded Tavia. “Goodness!”
“He—he maybe—had something to do with recovering it for you,”
Dorothy said faintly. Yet in her heart she knew that it was hope that
suggested the idea, not reason.
“Well, I am going to find out right now,” declared Tavia Travers,
and she marched back to the clerk’s desk before Dorothy could
object, had she desired to.
“This note to my friend is from Mr. Knapp, who is stopping here,”
Tavia said to the young man behind the counter. “Did he have
anything to do with getting back my bag?”
“I know nothing about your bag, Miss,” said the clerk. “I was not on
duty, I presume, when it was handed in. You are Miss——”
“Travers.”
The clerk went to the safe and found a memorandum, which he
read and then returned to the desk.
“Your supposition is correct, Miss Travers. Mr. Knapp handed in
the handbag and took a receipt for it.”
“When did he do that?” asked Tavia, quickly, almost overpowered
with amazement.
“Some time during the night. Before I came on duty at seven
o’clock.”
“Well! isn’t that the strangest thing?” Tavia said to Dorothy, when
she rejoined her friend at the hotel entrance after thanking the clerk.
“How ever could he have got it in the night?” murmured Dorothy.
“Say! he’s all right—Garry Knapp is!” Tavia cried, shaking the bag
to which she now clung so tightly, and almost on the verge of doing a
few “steps of delight” on the public thoroughfare. “I could hug him!”
“It—it is very strange,” murmured Dorothy, for she was still very
much disturbed in her mind.
“It’s particularly jolly,” said Tavia. “And I am going to—well, thank
him, at least,” as she saw her friend start and glance at her
admonishingly, “just the very first chance I get. But I ought to hug
him! He deserves some reward. You said yourself that perhaps I
should reward the finder.”
“Mr. Knapp could not possibly have been the finder. The bag was
merely returned through him.” Dorothy spoke positively.
“Don’t care. I must be grateful to somebody,” wailed Tavia. “Don’t
nip my finer feelings in the bud. Your name should be Frost—
Mademoiselle Jacquesette Frost! You’re always nipping me.”
Dorothy, however, remained grave. She plainly saw that this
incident foretold complications. She had made up her mind that she
and Tavia would have nothing more to do with the Westerner, Garry
Knapp; and now her friend would insist on thanking him—of course,
she must if only for politeness’ sake—and any further intercourse
with Mr. Knapp would make the situation all the more difficult.
She wished with all her heart that their shopping was over, and
then she could insist upon taking the train immediately out of New
York, even if she had to sink to the abhorred subterfuge of playing ill,
and so frightening Tavia.
She wished they might move to some other hotel; but if they did
that an explanation must be made to Aunt Winnie as well as to Tavia.
It seemed to Dorothy that she blushed all over—fairly burned—
whenever she thought of discussing her feelings regarding Garry
Knapp.
Never before in her experience had Dorothy Dale been so quickly
and so favorably impressed by a man. Tavia had joked about it, but
she by no means understood how deeply Dorothy felt. And Dorothy
would have been mortified to the quick had she been obliged to tell
even her dearest chum the truth.
Dorothy’s home training had been most delicate. Of course, in the
boarding school she and Tavia had attended there were many sorts
of girls; but all were from good families, and Mrs. Pangborn, the
preceptress of Glenwood, had had a strict oversight over her girls’
moral growth as well as over their education.
Dorothy’s own cousins, Ned and Nat White, though collegians,
and of what Tavia called “the harum-scarum type” like herself, were
clean, upright fellows and possessed no low ideas or tastes. It
seemed to Dorothy for a man to make the acquaintance of a strange
girl on the street and talk with her as Garry Knapp seemed to have
done, savored of a very coarse mind, indeed.
And all the more did she criticise his action because he had taken
advantage of the situation of herself and her friend and “picked
acquaintance” in somewhat the same fashion with them on their
entrance into New York.
He was “that kind.” He went about making the acquaintance of
every girl he saw who would give him a chance to speak to her! That
is the way it looked to Dorothy in her present mood.
She gave Garry Knapp credit for being a Westerner and being not
as conservative as Eastern folk. She knew that people in the West
were freer and more easily to become acquainted with than Eastern
people. But she had set that girl down as a common flirt, and she
believed no gentleman would so easily and naturally fall into
conversation with her as Garry Knapp had, unless he were quite
used to making such acquaintances.
It shamed Dorothy, too, to think that the young man should go
straight from her and Tavia to the girl.
That was the thought that made the keenest wound in Dorothy
Dale’s mind.
They shopped “furiously,” as Tavia declared, all the morning, only
resting while they ate a bite of luncheon in one of the big stores, and
then went at it again immediately afterward.
“The boys talk about ‘bucking the line’ about this time of year—
football slang, you know,” sighed Tavia; “but believe me! this is some
‘bucking.’ I never shopped so fast and furiously in all my life.
Dorothy, you actually act as though you wanted to get it all over with
and go home. And we can stay a week if we like. We’re having no
fun at all.”
Dorothy would not answer. She wished they could go home. It
seemed to her as though New York City was not big enough in which
to hide away from Garry Knapp.
They could not secure seats—not those they wanted—for the play
Ned and Nat had told them to see, for that evening; and Tavia
insisted upon going back to the hotel.
“I am done up,” she announced. “I am a dish-rag. I am a disgrace
to look at, and I feel that if I do not follow Lovely Lucy Larriper’s
advice and relax, I may be injured for life. Come, Dorothy, we must
go back to our rooms and lie down, or I shall lie right down here in
the gutter and do my relaxing.”
They returned to the hotel, and Dorothy almost ran through the
lobby to the elevator, she was so afraid that Garry Knapp would be
waiting there. She felt that he would be watching for them. The note
he had written her that morning proved that he was determined to
keep up their acquaintanceship if she gave him the slightest
opening.
“And I’ll never let him—never!” she told herself angrily.
“Goodness! how can you hurry so?” plaintively panted Tavia, as
she sank into the cushioned seat in the elevator.
All the time they were resting, Dorothy was thinking of Garry. He
would surely be downstairs at dinner time, waiting his chance to
approach them. She had a dozen ideas as to how she would treat
him—and none of them seemed good ideas.
She was tempted to write him a note in answer to the line he had
left with the clerk for her that morning, warning him never to speak to
her friend or herself again. But then, how could she do so bold a
thing?
Tavia got up at last and began to move about her room. “Aren’t
you going to get up ever again, Doro?” she asked. “Doesn’t the inner
man call for sustenance? Or even the outer man? I’m just crazy to
see Garry Knapp and ask him how he came by my bag.”
“Oh, Tavia! I wish you wouldn’t,” groaned Dorothy.
“Wish I wouldn’t what?” demanded her friend, coming to her open
door with a hairbrush in her hand and wielding it calmly.
Dorothy “bit off” what she had intended to say. She could not bring
herself to tell Tavia all that was in her mind. She fell back upon that
“white fib” that seems first in the feminine mind when trouble
portends:
“I’ve such a headache!”
“Poor dear!” cried Tavia. “I should think you had. You ate scarcely
any luncheon——”
“Oh, don’t mention eating!” begged Dorothy, and she really found
she did have a slight headache now that she had said so.
“Don’t you want your dinner?” cried Tavia, in horror.
“No, dear. Just let me lie here. You—you go down and eat.
Perhaps I’ll have something light by and by.”
“That’s what the Esquimau said when he ate the candle,” said
Tavia, but without smiling. It was a habit with Tavia, this saying
something funny when she was thinking of something entirely foreign
to her remark.
“You’re not going to be sick, are you, Doro?” she finally asked.
“No, indeed, my dear.”
“Well! you’ve acted funny all day.”
“I don’t feel a bit funny,” groaned Dorothy. “Don’t make me talk—
now.”
So Tavia, who could be sympathetic when she chose, stole away
and dressed quietly. She looked in at Dorothy when she was ready
to go downstairs, and as her chum lay with her eyes closed Tavia
went out without speaking.
Garry Knapp was fidgeting in the lobby when Tavia stepped out of
the car. His eye brightened—then clouded again. Tavia noticed it,
and her conclusion bore out the thought she had evolved about
Dorothy upstairs.
“Oh, Mr. Knapp!” she cried, meeting him with both hands
outstretched. “Tell me! How did you find my bag?”
And Garry Knapp was impolite enough to put her question aside
for the moment while he asked:
“Where’s Miss Dale?”
Two hours later Tavia returned to her chum. Garry walked out of
the hotel with his face heavily clouded.
“Just my luck! She’s a regular millionaire. Her folks have got more
money than I’ll ever even see if I beat out old Methuselah in age!
And Miss Tavia says Miss Dale will be rich in her own right. Ah,
Garry, old man! There’s a blank wall ahead of you. You can’t jump it
in a hurry. You haven’t got the spring. And this little mess of money I
may get for the old ranch won’t put me in Miss Dorothy Dale’s class
—not by a million miles!”
He walked away from the hotel, chewing on this thought as though
it had a very, very bitter taste.
CHAPTER VIII
AND STILL DOROTHY IS NOT HAPPY
“But what did he say?” demanded Dorothy, almost wildly, sitting up

in bed at Tavia’s first announcement. “I want to know what he said!”
“We-ell, maybe he didn’t tell the truth,” said Tavia, slowly.
“We’ll find out about that later,” Dorothy declared. “Go on.”
“How?”
“Why, of course we must hunt up these girls and give them
something for returning your bag.”
“Oh! I s’pose so,” Tavia said. “Though I guess the little one,
Number Forty-seven, wanted to keep it.”
“Now, tell me all” breathed Dorothy, her eyes shining. “All he said
—every word.”
“Goodness! I guess your headache is better, Doro Dale,” laughed
Tavia, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Dorothy said not a word,
but her “listening face” put Tavia on her mettle.
“Well, the very first thing he said,” she told her chum, her eyes
dancing, “when I ran up to him and thanked him for getting my bag,
was:
“‘Where’s Miss Dale?’
“What do you know about that?” cried Tavia, in high glee. “You
have made a deep, wide, long, and high impression—a four-
dimension impression—on that young man from the ‘wild and
woolly.’ Oh yes, you have!”
The faint blush that washed up into Dorothy Dale’s face like a
gentle wave on the sea-strand made her look “ravishing,” so Tavia
declared. She simply had to stop to hug her friend before she went
on. Dorothy recovered her serenity almost at once.
“Don’t tease, dear,” she said. “Go on with your story.”
“You see, the little cash-girl—or ‘check’, as they call them—picked
the bag up off the floor and hid it under her apron. Then she was
scared—especially when Mr. Schuman chanced to come upon us all
as we were quarreling. I suppose Mr. Schuman seems like a god to
little Forty-seven.
“Anyhow,” Tavia pursued, “whether the child meant to steal the
bag or not at first, she was afraid to say anything about it then. Her
sister—this girl who came to the hotel—works in the house
furnishing department. Before night Forty-seven told her sister. She
had heard Mr. Knapp’s name, and from the shipping clerk the big girl
obtained the name of the hotel at which Mr. Knapp was staying. Do
you see?”
“Yes,” breathed Dorothy. “Go on, dear.”
“Why, the girl just came here and asked for Mr. Knapp and found
he was out. She didn’t know any better than to linger about outside
and wait for him to appear—like Mary’s little lamb, you know! Little
Forty-seven had told her sister what Mr. Knapp looked like, of
course.”
“Of course!” cried Dorothy, agreeing again, but in such a tone that
Tavia frankly stared at her.
“I do wish I knew just what is the matter with you to-day, Doro,”
she murmured.
“And the rest of it?” demanded Dorothy, her eyes shining and her
cheeks still pink.
“Why, when little Forty-seven’s sister saw us with Mr. Knapp she
jumped to the correct conclusion that we were the girls who had lost
the money, and so she was afraid to speak right out before us——”
“Why?”
“Well, Dorothy,” said Tavia, with considerable gravity for her, “I
guess because of the old and well-established reason.”
“What’s that?”

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Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural

Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach

books in the series:

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

© Oxford University Press 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

You must not circulate this work in any other form

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Foreword: A Vision for Promoting Positive Development

7. Reframing the Narrative: Revealing Positive Youth

The study of human development is in the midst of a genuine paradigm

development. However, because of the dynamic character of each individual’s

Overton, W. F. (2015). Process and relational developmental systems. In W. F. Overton &

Amina Abubakar Richard M. Lerner

Fitim Uka Nora Wiium

We set out to explore nuances of such cultural and contextual variations of

universalities and specifics of development (Wiium & Dimitrova, 2019).

In addressing these major issues, we refer to “Roma” as a term subsuming

well-​being of Roma youth through an integrated, multidisciplinary, and

Manrique-​Millones, D. L., Pineda Marin, C. P., Millones-​Rivalles, R. B., & Dimitrova,

In this context of intense impoverishment and exclusion, large groups of

The Roma Culture

Sociodemographics and Roma Integration Strategy

Youth Relative poverty

Albania 1,261 120,000 65 95 65 95 23 18 32 54 n/​a n/​a

a Investigated non-​Roma population leaving nearby Roma communities.

However, despite some positive progress on education, public participation

Universalities and Specifics of Roma Youth

despite the widespread assumption that science has an important role in

characteristics, is particularly valuable for several reasons. First, it has the

This chapter highlights the promise of using a positive youth development

Boston or the Federal Reserve System

Roma in the United States

“First National Bank of Womankind,” she cried gaily. “I always

“Dear Miss Dale:

“But what did he say?” demanded Dorothy, almost wildly, sitting up

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7. Reframing the Narrative: Revealing Positive Youth

well-being of Roma youth through an integrated, multidisciplinary, and

Manrique-Millones, D. L., Pineda Marin, C. P., Millones-Rivalles, R. B., & Dimitrova,

Albania 1,261 120,000 65 95 65 95 23 18 32 54 n/a n/a

a Investigated non-Roma population leaving nearby Roma communities.