Abstract
According to the United Nations 1951 Convention, refugees are persons who have crossed an international boundary because they are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their former country due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. In 2009, there were an estimated 10.4 million refugees worldwide. Australia, during 2009-10, passed the 750,000 mark in its intake of refugees since nationhood3. In 2010-2011, 13,799 refugees entered Australia. Studies have documented a greater prevalence rate of mental disorders among refugee groups than the general population. The most common mental disorders among refugees include: posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, somatization disorders, brief reaction psychoses and adjustment reactions. Resilience is one of the foundations of mental health, which refers to a class of phenomenon characterized by good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development, through which people are able to maintain, recover and improve in mental health following challenges. Despite the risk for mental disorders after exposure to tremendous amount of trauma, stress, and adversity, research has suggested that many refugees demonstrate high level of adaptation and resilience, and that positive psychological changes can result from traumatic experiences, namely posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth is not simply a return to baseline from a period of suffering; instead it is an experience of improvement that for some persons is deeply profound. To explore these strengths so as to more effectively deal with mental health disorders among refugees, the study will investigate the impacts of resilience and posttraumatic growth on refugees’ mental health. This strength-based orientation is innovative in contrast to the more traditional deficit-focus position in refugee mental health research.
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