Female-Specific Refugee Trauma Impacting Psychological Wellbeing Post-Settlement: A Scoping Review of Research

Abstract

Women represent approximately half of the refugee population, yet female-specific trauma pre, during, and after the refugee journey impacting post-settlement psychological wellbeing, is rarely explored. This scoping review described sources of evidence, key concepts, and gaps regarding traumatic experiences and the psychological wellbeing of women from refugee backgrounds following traumatic experiences with a particular interest in positive change post-settlement. Inclusion criteria were a) women from refugee backgrounds who experienced traumatic events throughout the refugee journey, and b) reported positive changes in their psychological wellbeing post-settlement. The systematic search strategy identified references from PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, and CINAHL databases as well as Google Scholar across 1992–2023. Ten studies were extracted, and data were mapped to study characteristics, trauma characteristics, psychological wellbeing domains, and recommendations for further studies. Findings described an emphasis on qualitative methods, utilizing interviews as a data collection technique, and recruiting participants from countries of origin or host countries with typically small populations of women from refugee backgrounds. It excluded individuals with disabilities. Traumatic experiences were signified as trauma types (refugee trauma and female-specific trauma) and trauma durations (acute trauma and prolonged trauma). Psychological wellbeing domains of autonomy, personal growth, and positive relations were the most represented, and purpose in life and self-acceptance were the least represented across the studies. Studies suggested further exploration of female-specific refugee trauma and its impacts to provide tailored support services. In conclusion, there was a paucity of studies that considered the psychological implications of experiencing female-specific refugee trauma influencing positive psychological wellbeing.