“Giving Back to Society What Society Gave Us”: Altruism,Coping, and Meaning Making by Two Refugee Communities in South Australia

We aimed to explore how refugee people utilised their coping resources and strategies to find meaning in their past and present experiences. Using an experience‐centred narrative approach, we analysed the stories of 24 former refugees from two African countries resettled in South Australia. Data analysis revealed altruism and helping behaviour as a prominent and recurring theme of participants' narrated lives. This meta‐theme encompassed four subthemes: (a) surviving war and exile, (b) adapting to Australian society, (c) reaching back home, and (d) meaning making through religious beliefs. Helping, cooperating, and sharing were entwined with participants' coping strategies and meaning making of experience. Participants' socio‐historical, cultural, and religious context influenced the interpretations of their experiences. Taken together, our findings identified a counter narrative in refugee mental health research beyond trauma and psychopathology. Specifically, we have shown that when the refugee experience is also accompanied by situational contingencies such as receiving help and being called upon to help, together with evaluations such as empathy, identification with suffering, and gratitude, people can be motivated to help others. Future research is needed to explore how altruism and helping behaviour can promote healing from trauma, alleviate distress of separation, and ameliorate acculturation stress among diverse refugee populations.     

Aetiology of Coexisting Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Disorders: Perspectives of Refugee Youth and Service Providers

In the general population, people with comorbid mental health (MH) and alcohol and other drug (AOD) disorders (comorbidity) have great difficulty accessing appropriate services, and poor outcomes. Little is known about comorbidity in resettled refugees in Australia. This study was designed to identify risk factors and patterns of comorbidity development in young people from refugee backgrounds living in a disadvantaged urban region of Adelaide, South Australia. This qualitative study utilised in‐depth semi‐structured interviews (n = 30) with resettled refugee youth and workers from MH, AOD, and refugee support services. Thematic analyses were conducted to investigate the aetiology of MH and AOD disorders in young refugees. Interviews with both groups revealed how the interrelated nature of risk factors may place young people from refugee backgrounds at heightened risk of experiencing MH and AOD problems. The situations and conditions described by both groups are discussed under six main themes: pre‐migration experiences of torture and trauma; familial factors of intergenerational conflict; post‐migration adjustment difficulties in terms of language, culture, education, and employment; exposure to and availability of substances; maladaptive coping strategies and self‐medication; and access to information and services. Implications for psychologists and MH professionals are identified, emphasising the need for clinicians to understand the complexities surrounding the aetiology of comorbidity in these youth. The initial assessment needs to be comprehensive, including pre‐ and post‐settlement experiences and cultural and family dimensions of their current situation. Treatment may often need to simultaneously address multiple contributing factors and involve culturally sensitive psycho‐education.     

Pathways to Housing: The Experiences of Sponsored Refugees and Refugee Claimants in Accessing Permanent Housing in Toronto

In contrast to many new immigrants, refugees normally have limited financial resources upon arrival in a new country. Consequently, most refugees need some form of assistance in accessing good-quality, safe and affordable housing. This paper evaluates the assumption that refugee claimants in Toronto experience a much more difficult pathway to housing than sponsored refugees. The housing trajectories of a sample of refugees are examined using semi-structured interviews. The results confirm that this sample of refugee claimants experienced a more difficult pathway to housing, at least in the initial stages of settlement. Over time, claimants improved their housing position and narrowed the gap with sponsored refugees.     

In Their Own Words: Mental Health and Quality of Life of West African Refugees in Nigeria

Refugees are exposed to extreme stressors and are therefore at risk of mental health and social problems. Other issues refugees have to cope with include the loss of their country, culture, language, profession, family, friends, and future plans. Much of the studies that have been done on refugee mental health have not attempted to explain what these experiences mean to these individuals. Thus, this study provides explorative data on the mental health and quality of life of West African refugees living in Nigeria in order to understand their views and perspectives. This study carried out in 2010 employed qualitative methods; a total of four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among adult male and female refugees purposively selected at the Oru Refugee Camp, Ogun State, Nigeria. Respondents described quality of life as a major determinant of mental health status. Most of the participants believed that women were more predisposed to mental ill health due to their sensitive emotional make-up. Factors identified by respondents as affecting mental health and quality of life among refugees included poverty, unemployment, physical health, housing and environment, discrimination, stigmatization, and insecurity. Refugees rated their mental health and quality of life as poor due to the aforementioned factors. Recommendations were made to the international community, national and local governments to invest more on education, provision of vocational and entrepreneurial skills as well as adequate housing in order to improve the mental health and quality of life of refugees.     

Building Bridges for Refugee Empowerment

After the Syrian Humanitarian Crisis, the people of Turkey have long-established informal organizations to accommodate refugees. These local agencies often take responsibility as a cultural bridge between the refugee and the host community to establish peaceful relationships between two communities. In this paper, I examined the activities of one such local women’s organization in the Central Anatolia region. The organizational structure of this network of women was critically examined based on the principles of critical feminist theory. The findings showed that this organization challenged the dominant narratives of refugees as victims and helpers as liberators. In contrasts to much of the literature on refugee and migration studies, which avoided questioning the position of helpers, it unveiled some of the unacknowledged benefits accrued by the local women and presents an alternative humanitarian endeavor for improving refugees’ life standards.     

A Journey Without Planned Destination: Traumatic Transmigration Experiences of Refugee Children

There is a dearth of information pertaining to experiences that refugee children encounter on a journey to the host country (transmigration). This study is a presentation of transmigration experiences of Zimbabwean refugee children from their home country to South Africa. The study was guided by the following critical questions: What were refugee children’s transmigration experiences from Zimbabwe to South Africa, and why did they have those experiences? Kunz’s kinetic model of refugee flight and settlement was used as a theoretical framework. Informed by the paradigmatic position of interpretivism, the study was done using a qualitative case study of a school of refugees in South Africa. Twelve refugee children and four parents/guardians were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Data was analysed using content analysis. The study found that transmigration is a relatively major life event that is characterised by perilous and harrowing experiences to children. It is concluded that due to traumatising transmigration experiences that refugee children encounter, pseudo and fluid identities develop.     

Perceived life quality of older and younger tibetans

Tibetans have enjoyed a reputation for contentment and a jovial disposition. This study examines the extent to which this positive outlook on life persists despite their 25-year stay as refugees in India, and the transferability of this positive outlook to first-generation, Indian-born Tibetans. With this in mind, older Tibetan refugees (N = 45) and younger Tibetan refugees (N = 45) residing in Himachal Pradesh in India were administered the Life Quality Scale (Q.O.L.). As expected, younger Tibetan refugees shared significant characteristics on the Q.O.L. scale with older Tibetans. Similarities and differences in the outlook of the two age groups are examined.Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research in Montreal in May 1987.The author wishes to thank Sherab Gyatso of Tibetans' Childrens Village, a school in Dharamsala, for his help in collecting the data.     

Life-Threatening Indicators among the Indochinese Refugees

ABSTRACT: The Indochinese refugees have experienced more devastation than most Americans will know in a lifetime. The tremendous turmoil of war, the risking of one's life, the forced separation of families and relocation into the American culture have drastically changed the lives of every Indochinese individual. Nor do the emotional scars imprinted into the minds of these people disappear upon arrival into a neutral country. Rather, these psychological problems can show themselves as suicidal preoccupation, or attempts. This paper stresses related variables observed in those Indochinese people contemplating suicide. Of 4,192 Indochinese refugees sampled, ten suicidally inclined refugees were identified. Clinical findings revealed that multiple determinants were operating conjointly in creating the high risk of any particular refugee in relation to suicide.     

The housing situation of refugees in Montréal three years after arrival: The case of asylum seekers who obtained permanent residence

This article presents the results of a secondary analysis of the housing-related variables contained in a survey of the settlement experiences of some 400 regularized refugee claimants living in Greater Montréal. It examines housing as a vector of settlement and integration, as well as the related neighbourhood context. The data indicate that the refugees are relatively well housed in terms of dwelling quality, but spend inordinately high percentages of their income on rent, essentially because of their low incomes. More optimistically, the refugees have access to social support from within their ethnolinguistic group, and in their neighbourhoods they are not isolated from the majority cultural groups of Québec society.     

Le logement des réfugiés à Montréal trois ans après leur arrivée: le cas des demandeurs d'asile ayant obtenu la résidence permanente

This article presents the results of a secondary analysis of the housing-related variables contained in a survey of the settlement experiences, of some 400 regularized refugee claimants living in Greater Montréal. It examines housing as a vector of settlement and integration, as well as the related neighbourhood context. The data indicate that the refugees are relatively well housed in terms of dwelling quality, but spend inordinately high percentages of their income on rent, essentially because of their low incomes. More optimistically, the refugees have access to social support from within their ethnolinguistic group, and in their neighbourhoods they are not isolated from the majority cultural groups of Québec society.     

Language,politics and dreams: the challenges of building resilience in refugees

This paper describes a case study of a 60-year-old Peruvian refugee in some detail, focusing on the importance of building emotional resilience in a patient in Spanish in order to create a space for learning the English language – the patient did not speak English after 20 years of living in Britain. The work was carried out with an interpreter and some of the literature on working with interpreters is referred to. The paper also briefly outlines the refugee journey in broad terms, which is a journey from the culturally known to the culturally unknown. The question of how well the literature on resilience, which sits firmly within a Western developmental perspective, can be applied to refugees, most of whom come from group and family-based cultures dominated by ideas of honour and shame, is discussed. The paper also touches on the importance of the receiving country enabling or not, as the case may be, a transitional space for refugees who have lost their home and are seeking to find a safe haven in a strange culture.     

Maintaining Successful Aging: The Role of Coping Patterns and Resources

One of the main challenges of aging societies is maintaining quality of life despite inevitable changes that occur in the lives of elderly people. This study examined the contribution of coping resources and coping patterns to successful aging among elderly persons following a decline in health and function. Data were collected from 262 elderly Israelis during two home interviews carried out at an interval of 12 months. Successful aging was assessed using a number of measures of subjective well-being. Predictive variables included change in health/functioning, coping resources, and coping patterns (proactive and reactive). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the coping resources self-efficacy and social support and the proactive coping pattern of concrete planning positively predicted successful aging, while the proactive coping pattern deciding on preferences had a negative influence. These results indicate that elderly people have the ability to shape their quality of life in the presence of decline in health and functioning by using appropriate coping resources and coping patterns. Controlled interventions are recommended to help older people acquire and maintain effective resources and coping skills, thus further promoting their successful aging process.     

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Salvadoran Women:

Previous research has documented post-traumatic stress disorder among Salvadoran refugees in this country, but information on refugees living in El Salvador is not available. This study investigated the patterns of psychological distress and documented the existence of PTSD in Salvadoran refugee women in El Salvador. A team of U.S. mental health workers traveled to a refugee camp in El Salvador to interview women about their traumatic experiences and current symptoms of distress. This study provides strong evidence that many refugee women in El Salvador have developed PTSD and that many others show significant signs of distress. Data from this study also provided insight into clinical issues for Salvadoran women experiencing PTSD. In response to requests from Salvadoran mental health providers, a treatment program was developed to help Salvadoran women reduce their distress. Goals of the treatment included associating distress with the trauma as a normal reaction to a very abnormal event, reducing feelings of loss of control, reducing "survivor guilt," and lessening anxiety and high arousal level. These goals were accomplished using cognitive-behavioral and community-oriented strategies.     

The role of shared social identity in mutual support among refugees of conflict: An ethnographic study of Syrian refugees in Jordan

In the midst of an unprecedented refugee crisis and the shortfall of aid organization resources, a shift toward utilizing the capacity for collective resilience in refugee communities could be helpful. This paper explores experiences of psychosocial social support among a community of Syrian urban refugees in Jordan, especially the kind of support that helps them deal with secondary stressors. We were specifically interested in the role of shared social identity as a basis of support and the sources of such shared identity. We conducted an 8‐month ethnography that included observations and semistructured interviews with 13 refugees. We found many examples of support among refugees, on both personal and collective levels. Some of this support was based on sharing the identity of “refugee” that stemmed from a sense of common fate. This is similar to the process identified in the literature on disasters. Psychological membership in the refugee group is stigmatic, but it can also lead to positive outcomes in line with the social cure perspective. However, we also found examples of support that were value‐based or based on pre‐existing interpersonal networks. Implications of the findings for models of group processes in stressful situations and the practical question of refugee support are discussed.     

Trauma in Resettled Iraqi Refugees: Differences between Those Seeking Psychological Treatment and Those Not Seeking Psychological Treatment

Psychological distress experienced by resettling refugees has been well documented, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression being prevalent outcomes. This study examined psychological and physiological measures of trauma exposure in 2 groups of Iraqi refugees resettled in Australia, those seeking psychological treatment (n = 25) versus those not seeking treatment (n = 22). Data from a group of healthy sex- and age-matched controls (n = 32) were collected to facilitate norm comparisons for physiological arousal. Continuous recording of electrocardiogram data examined resting heart rate (HR). Refugees seeking treatment had significantly higher levels of PTSD symptomology and depression levels compared to non-treatment-seeking refugees; however, there was no difference in the number of trauma events endorsed. Finally, resting HR was significantly higher in both refugee groups compared with healthy controls; however, there was no difference between the refugee groups. Clinical consideration of this excessive trauma exposure and elevated autonomic arousal is warranted.     

The Importance of Resources and Security in the Socio-Economic Integration of Refugees. A Study on the Impact of Length of Stay in Asylum Accommodation and Residence Status on Socio-Economic Integration for the Four Largest Refugee Groups in the Netherlands

In many European countries, including the Netherlands, refugees stay in asylum accommodation pending a decision on their asylum request. While it seems evident that the lack of resources and insecurity about the future experienced during this stay will impact refugees’ subsequent ability to integrate with the host society, so far this has hardly been studied in an extensive way. Also, the type of residence status granted can be a source of insecurity that impacts their integration. Previous studies on refugee integration have already shown the impact of pre-migration stressors such as traumatic experiences on mental health and integration. In this study, we use a large-scale dataset containing detailed information on about 4,000 refugees to show that also post-migration stressors affect mental health and hinder the socio-economic integration of the four largest refugee groups in the Netherlands: Afghan, Iraqi, Iranian and Somali.     

Educating Somali Immigrant and Refugee Students: A Review of Cultural-Historical Issues and Related Psychoeducational Supports

Somali immigrants and refugees have entered the United States with increasing frequency due to civil war-induced violence and instability in their native country. The resultant increase of Somali students is of particular relevance to educators and school psychologists because Somali youth possess unique cultural backgrounds. In addition, refugee youth are at an elevated risk for mental health and academic difficulties due to their pre-immigration exposure to traumatic events and lack of formal education. In this article, we provide an overview of Somali history and culture, recent immigrant trends, and the challenges faced by Somali children and youth in the United States. Then, we describe the research on school-based supports for the academic and social-emotional needs of this population, and discuss implications for school psychological services and applied research.     

A Comparison of Wages by Gender and Region of Origin for Newly Arrived Refugees in the USA

The resettlement model supported by the US government aims to help recently arrived refugees achieve economic self-reliance within the first 90 to 180 days of arrival. In addition to the challenges they face in adapting to their new locations, however, refugees enter a US labor market characterized by preexisting wage disparities based on race and gender. Meanwhile, recent changes in US refugee and immigration policies have infused debates over nationalism, Islamophobia, and the economics of resettlement. In this context, it is critical to assess whether refugees face wage discrimination that may affect their ability to become economically self-reliant. Drawing on the International Rescue Committee’s administrative data on refugee resettlement, we examine the extent to which starting wages for newly arrived refugees differ by region of origin and gender. The study found consistent gender pay gaps among the majority of new arrivals. The study also identified lower wages for refugees arriving from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean compared to other regions. These trends suggest a need for more consistent agency monitoring of employment placement, and the development of strategies to ensure more equitable employment outcomes for refugees.     

Voices of Dialogue and Directivity in Family Therapy With Refugees: Evolving Ideas About Dialogical Refugee Care

In this article, we reflect on our evolving ideas regarding a dialogical approach to refugee care. Broadening the predominant phased trauma care model and its engaging of directive expertise in symptom reduction, meaning making, and rebuilding connectedness, these developing dialogical notions involve the negotiation of silencing and disclosure, meaning and absurdity, hope and hopelessness in a therapeutic dialogue that accepts its encounter of cultural and social difference. In locating therapeutic practice within these divergent approaches, we argue an orientation on collaborative dialogue may operate together with notions from the phased trauma care model as heuristic background in engaging a polyphonic understanding of coping with individual and family sequelae of forced displacement. This locating of therapeutic practice, as informed by each perspective, invites us to remain present to fragments of therapeutic positioning that resonate power imbalance or appropriation in a therapeutic encounter imbued with a social context that silences refugees’ suffering. In a clinical case analysis, we further explore these relational complexities of negotiating directive expertise and collaborative dialogue in the therapeutic encounter with refugee clients.