The refugee crisis and peer relationships during childhood and adolescence

Abstract

This paper is a call for empirical research, and theory development, that focuses on the peer relationships of children and adolescents who experience forced displacement. During the last decade, an escalating humanitarian crisis has developed with historic levels of involuntary migration occurring across the world. The extant research on youth who become refugees or internally displaced has primarily targeted issues related to mental health and basic survival needs. Less attention has been devoted to normative developmental processes including peer relationships. Nonetheless, peers can play a critical role in facilitating the adjustment of displaced children and adolescents. Friends can help these vulnerable youth through the transitions associated with resettlement. From a less adaptive perspective, interactions in the peer group will potentially contribute to intensification of risk and can accelerate trajectories toward negative outcomes. Resettlement and relocation efforts will need to be informed by a focus on social adjustment in the peer group.