Stress and Coping in the Lives of Recent Immigrants and Refugees: Considerations for Counseling

Abstract

Recent immigrants and refugees experience great amounts of stress. Literature on immigration and stress has focused primarily on the stressors directly related to immigrants’ adjustment to a new culture (i.e., acculturation stress). This manuscript discusses stress and coping in the lives of recent immigrants and refugees within a framework of stress theories proposed in psychological literature. In addition, an overview of stressors encountered by recent immigrants is provided. Implications for clinical work, research, and advocacy are discussed.