Resilience & Recovery after War
Refugee children and families in the United States
This report takes a social and ecological transactional approach that emphasizes the role of culture and individual, family, and community factors in healing and resilience and underscores the multiple risk and protective factors that affect refugee children's responses to their experiences as they develop and grow. Recommendations: ensuring positive outcomes for refugee children and families requires stakeholders within the clinical practice, research, education, and public policy sectors to be culturally competent and cognizant of the various interacting factors that influencerefugees' mental health and adjustment upon resettlement, including:
- effects of migration and armed conflict
- acculturation
- risk and resilience
- cultural and religious beliefs and background
- age/developmental stage
- race/ethnicity
- gender
- socioeconomic status
- sexual orientation
- disability/medical needs
- characteristics of the family and host community
- language barriers/attainment
Stakeholders within each of these sectors must collaborate with each other, family members, and community members in order to improve the ethics, feasibility, and effectiveness of mental health care for refugee children and families. (pp. 7-10)