How Prior Social Ecologies Shape Family Resilience Amongst Refugees in U.S. Resettlement

Abstract

Refugee families bring with them family resources and strengths that can contribute to family resilience in the resettlement context. However, there is a need for inquiry and theory development concerning family resilience given the complexities posed by social, economic, and cultural transitions. This exploration of family resilience in refugee resettlement is based on research findings from an ethnographic study of 73 Liberian and Burundian refugee adolescents and their families in U.S. resettlement. The analysis found that overall, family resilience in resettlement has been shaped significantly by the refugee families’ prior living places, including those of their home country prewar and internment in the refugee camp. The majority of the family resilience processes seen in resettlement represent modifications of previously existing resilience processes, such as finding or building new churches, finding a living place like a refugee camp, and sharing parenting responsibilities with other parents. Several new family resilience processes were identified, such as learning to be more active parents, moving out of the city to find lower rent, and allowing wives and adolescents increased autonomy. Program leaders and policymakers should respond by developing resilience-based initiatives that better facilitate the modification of existing family resilience processes or the emergence of new processes.