Social Support Under Siege: An Examination of Women's Forced Migration

Background and Purpose

The destruction of social networks is only one among a myriad of consequences of war and displacement, but one with reverberating implications that have not been adequately recognized or understood in research, policy or practice. Related mental health research has traditionally focused on pre-migration trauma. Some scholars, however, explicitly counter the notion that pre-migration trauma is predominantly responsible for post-migration mental health problems. This qualitative study sought to address gaps in policy, practice and research by developing theory to explain how women who migrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recreate social support post-resettlement in the United States. 

Methods

Grounded theory methodologies seek to generate theory of psychosocial processes grounded in participant data. The qualitative data used for the current analysis were drawn from a grounded theory study to examine multiple facets of women’s social support in forced migration. This study was guided by an interpretive approach that prioritizes the understanding and abstraction of meanings and actions, and in assuming multiple realities, foregrounds the subjectivity of actors. Using a purposive sampling approach, attention was paid to procuring a demographically varied sample. All participants (N=27) claimed the DRC as their country of origin, resettled to the U.S. as refugees, and were currently residing in a mid-size town in Texas.

Using an iterative approach, I intermittently collected and then analyzed data, which in turn informed subsequent data collection. I analyzed interview transcripts in small batches following each data collection activity to develop codes, explore emerging theoretical directions in the data, and inform changes to my interview guide over the course of the study. I used memoing techniques to capture my thinking, analysis, and personal reactions throughout the analytic process, and employed diagramming techniques to examine emerging theoretical directions and relationships between categories.

Results

A theoretical model emerged explaining pivots in the internal lives of women, and their relationships to time, space, and self as social support constricted. In summary, women originating from the DRC came from contexts in which social support was a way of life.  War scattered families and sundered community, resulting in ruptured connections.  Fluidity between public and private spheres, and relational risks were amplified in displacement. The resettlement process to the U.S. “nuclearized” families, further downsizing women’s most trusted networks and sources of support.  Upon arrival to the U.S., women experienced partitioned lives through changing relationships to space and time, which contributed to women being alone. Converging processes propelled women towards learning to stand alone (core category). 

 

Conclusions & Implications

The analysis revealed the transformation of social support for women over time and space, spurred by structural forces and marked by loss. The changes in environment women experienced post-resettlement were perhaps the most dramatic in their journeys, with specific implications for (re)locating themselves, internally and relationally. The inquiry into social support served to highlight the extent to which resettlement, following war and displacement, is a life altering event that sets into motion psychosocial processes with implications for wellbeing and health.