Cross-country migration is a role-challenging experience as it requires adaptation to different customs, interaction patterns, and regulations of a new country. Failure to adapt may affect the migrant's mental health negatively: depression and anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder are found to be associated with migration, with women under higher risk. This may be further exacerbated when the migrant is a mumpreneur (i.e., a female entrepreneur with children) who is already juggling entrepreneurship and motherhood, and this adaptation may be further complicated if the mumpreneur has just started or is about to start her own business. Despite these risks on mental health, this group has been paid relatively little research attention in the past.
Based on this gap, this study aimed to explore migrant mumpreneurs' experiences related to their multiple roles and the potential impact of this on their mental health and wellbeing, through conducting one-to-one interviews with fifteen Turkish mumpreneurs living in the UK under the ECAA visa (i.e., a European visa which requires the recipient to start a business in the migrated country). We analysed interview scripts using thematic analysis as our main methodology and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model as our theoretical framework. The analysis revealed rich experiences, including the child's future as the main motivation for migration, adaptation challenges, issues with balancing multiple roles, and presence or absence of social networks as a crucial factor. The participants also mentioned worry, loneliness, and stress, but strength based on overcoming these challenges.
The findings highlight the need to provide structured support to migrant mumpreneurs via governmental bodies as well as non-government organizations, and hint at the type of support they would benefit from. This oral presentation will end with a brief discussion and suggestions regarding these.