Exploring Intergenerational Communication and Mental Health in Refugee Youth

Background and Purpose:  In the past ten years, 34,455 refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Iraq have arrived in Minnesota (MN Department of Health, 2015). Both pre and post displacement stressors impact resettlement success and ongoing resettlement stressors may negatively impact long-term health and mental health outcomes (Miller & Rassmussen, 2010, Schweitzer et al, 2012). Refugee youth may have unique experiences with resettlement and integration that differ from their parents/guardians and uniquely impact their mental health (Lustig et al, 2004). A recent meta-analysis concluded that disclosure of traumatic material is healing for adult offspring of refugee trauma survivors and that silencing strategies are not adaptive once the refugee family is resettled (Dalgaard & Montgomery, 2015). The objectives of this research are: 1) to explore the pre-resettlement and resettlement stressors that refugee young adults report and 2) to explore communication related to these stressors within families in resettlement.

Methods: Ethnocultural methodology informed four ethnic specific, mixed gender, focus groups conducted with 36 total participants (18 male and 18 female). The sample included 11 Bhutanese, 7 Karen, 8 Oromo, and 10 Somali young adult refugees. The mean age ranged between 20 and 22 and the mean number of years in resettlement was Bhutanese (1), Karen (3), Oromo (9) and Somali (10).  Participants responded to questions about what children experience prior to resettlement, responses to difficult experiences, how they know if children are suffering, who children talk to about their experiences, what are acceptable ways to talk about problems. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic categorization informed by Spradley’s Developmental Research Sequence (Spradley, 1979). To enhance trustworthiness credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability were systematically tracked (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Cultural leaders were involved in all stages of the research and also interviewed for their understanding of findings.  

Results: Findings report common and culture specific experiences of refugee young adults related to three domains: (1) Knowledge and experience of trauma prior to resettlement, (2) Adjustment experiences in resettlement, and (3) Communication about stressors in families. Common categories of trauma experience include the impact on youth identity, violence in camps, poor medical care, and inadequate food supplies. Somalis and Oromos were more likely to discuss generational gaps impacting the avoidance of trauma memories and conflicts, while recent arrivals (Bhutanese and Karen) placed greater emphasis on violence and bad news from home.  Common categories of adjustment experiences included happiness in the U.S., school stress, economic pressures to support families, and discrimination.  Recent arrivals identified language barriers and pressure to pay IOM loans. Categories related to communication about stressors in families included the lack of intergenerational communication, awareness of parental distress, and sharing outside the family. 

Implications: Many of the stressors that young adult refugees identify prior to resettlement persist in resettlement including challenges to identity formation that are grounded in ethnic persecution and persist in ongoing discrimination, economic and educational challenges, and social isolation and intergenerational gaps in communication. This preliminary research suggests recommendations for supporting young adult refugees in resettlement.