Recent Activities

Psych-AID attends the (Re-)Constructing Credibility in Refugee Status Determination Workshop
Doctoral researchers Malin Ekelund and Obed Appiah, together with Psych-AID principal investigator Jan Antfolk, participated in the (Re-)Constructing Credibility in Refugee Status Determination Workshop at the University of Copenhagen. The workshop aimed to foster discussion on research related to credibility assessment in the asylum context and to clarify what researchers mean when they refer to credibility.

Psych-AID Presentation at Åbo Akademi Lunch Seminars in Minority Studies
Doctoral Researcher Malin Ekelund delivered an insightful talk titled “Adjudicating Asylum Claims of Sexual or Gender Minority Applicants” at the Lunch Seminars in Minority Studies. In this, she presented research that the Psych-AID group has been conducting and the findings from her recent experiment.

Public Defence of Doctoral Thesis by Doctoral Researcher Hedayat Selim
Doctoral Researcher Hedayat Selim successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled “Psychological aspects in the evaluation of asylum claims based on sexual orientation” on Friday, 22 August 2025. Professor Jan Antfolk served as the custos, while Associate Professor Hilary Evans Cameron served as the opponent.
Recent Publications
‘How would you define your sexuality?’ analyzing the questions asked in official asylum interviews with sexual minorities
The study of Finnish asylum interviews with sexual minority applicants found that, while problematic questioning styles were largely avoided, officials relied heavily on closed-ended questions and focused more on verifying sexual orientation than on experiences of persecution. Improved training and further research are essential to enhance interview practices.
Experiences of asylum interviews by asylum officials, interpreters and asylum seekers in Finland
Experiences of asylum interviews by asylum officials, interpreters and asylum seekers in Finland New paper alert by post-doctoral researcher Jenny Skrifvars and Psych-AID colleagues exploring the experiences of asylum interviews by asylum officials, interpreters and asylum seekers in Finland. Despite previous research on investigative interviewing in the asylum context, few studies have examined how the…

