“People are still living with pains of the war”: An assessment of long-term adjustment and consequences of war-related traumatic stress among Liberian refugees

Abstract

A dearth of empirical research examines the adjustment and wellbeing of long-term refugees in the United States and globally. The goal of this hermeneutic phenomenological needs assessment study was to examine stakeholders’ perceptions of individual, relational, and community-level adjustment in one of the largest Liberian refugee communities in the U.S. Twenty 60–90-minute key informant interviews were conducted and analyzed using hermeneutic phenomenology coding protocols. Six themes emerged in key informants’ perceptions of long-term adjustment and wellbeing among war-affected Liberian refugees: 1) unresolved traumatic stress, 2) substance use, 3) mental health stigma, 4) adverse relational effects, 5) disrupted community dynamics, and 6) lack of access to culturally relevant services. This study expands on refugee and global mental health research by empirically documenting adjustment experiences in a long-term and underrepresented refugee community, which can inform prevention and intervention efforts with communities displaced from war. Clinical, research, and policy implications are also described alongside efforts to enhance support for refugees across their adjustment phases. (162 words)