Resettlement Stress Among Emerging and Middle Adult Refugees from Burma: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Background and Purpose: The migratory trajectory of refugees encompasses a continuum of chronic stress, originating in their countries of origin and extending through migration, liminal spaces, and resettlement. This study acknowledges the complexity of these stressors, emphasizing their differential impact across the life course. Through interpretative phenomenological analysis, this research explores the lived experiences of resettlement stress among resettled refugees from Burma in the United States. The study aims to understand how these individuals navigate and interpret resettlement stressors, enriching our understanding of the refugee experience through a life course perspective.

Methods: A community-embedded researcher conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 13 resettled refugees from Burma, representing the Karen, Chin, Karenni, and Rohingya ethnic communities. These participants, aged 18 to 56, had lived in the United States for an average of 11 years. We analyzed the qualitative data using a seven-stage interpretative phenomenological analysis, which involved the following steps: 1) data immersion, 2) exploratory noting, 3) constructing personal experiential statements, 4) connecting statements across individual transcripts, 5) naming and consolidating personal experiential themes, 6) connecting themes across all transcripts, and 7) naming and consolidating group experiential themes.

Results: The interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed that the lived experiences of resettlement stress among refugees from Burma in the United States are more distinctly delineated along adult life course stages than ethnic backgrounds. Two primary themes emerged from the narratives, distinctly affecting emerging adults (ages 18-22) and middle adults (ages 30-56). Emerging adults reported significant stress from serving as bilingual and bicultural mediators for their families and the desire to achieve success in tribute to their parents' sacrifices. This cohort articulated a pronounced tension between personal aspirations and familial obligations, reflecting a deep sense of responsibility toward their family's integration and success in a new sociocultural landscape. Conversely, middle adults highlighted the stress associated with language barriers, employment challenges due to generational barriers to education, and the pervasive feeling of thinking too much, a common idiom used among diverse populations to describe the cognitive aspect of their stress. Furthermore, they reported the early onset of chronic health conditions attributable to the compounded effects of allostatic load—a physiological consequence of chronic stress exposure. Middle adults also framed stress around concerns for their children's futures and well-being in an unfamiliar environment, indicating a generational shift in the focus of resettlement stressors.

Conclusions and Implications: This study underscores the complexity of resettlement stress among refugees from Burma in the United States, illustrating that adult life course stages profoundly influence the nature and experience of stress despite differences in language and culture. The findings highlight the need for resettlement efforts to adopt a more nuanced, life-course-informed approach to supporting refugees. Findings highlight the necessity for life-course-specific interventions for refugees, emphasizing programs for emerging adults to support them as cultural and linguistic mediators and for middle adults to overcome systemic barriers such as language and employment. Tailoring support to address these groups' distinct stressors, including mental health impacts and allostatic load, can enhance resettlement success.