International Social Work, 59(6), 2016, pp.904-914.
Publisher:
Sage
This study found that social service agents who worked with refugees and were exposed to group dynamics over long periods observed varying levels of tension between exiled compatriots as well as limits to their relations. Consequently, most of them tried to work with mixed rather than homogeneous groups whenever possible. Most of the agents seemed to favour neutrality, at least in appearances,
(Edited publisher abstract)
This study found that social service agents who worked with refugees and were exposed to group dynamics over long periods observed varying levels of tension between exiled compatriots as well as limits to their relations. Consequently, most of them tried to work with mixed rather than homogeneous groups whenever possible. Most of the agents seemed to favour neutrality, at least in appearances, with respect to factors that could cause divisions within a group. By contrast, others would forego the neutral ideal and would not hesitate to harness the mobilizing potential of certain affinities among specific sub-groups within larger groups of compatriots.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
social services, refugees, intervention, violence, interpersonal relationships;
International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care, 10(3), 2014, pp.121-133.
Publisher:
Emerald
... and refugees who used human smugglers to enter Turkey and Greece. Fieldwork was conducted in Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey over spring and summer 2011 and 2012.
Findings: This paper presents an adapted typology of violence using four categories of coercive violence: threats and pressure, physical force, deception and fraud, and coercion/advantage taking. Movement with human smugglers may involve
(Edited publisher abstract)
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline a typology of violent acts used against migrants using human smugglers. This paper relates the experiences of violence, coercion, and exploitation to migrants’ experiences of being smuggled across borders.
Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using participant observation and semi-structured interviews among undocumented migrants and refugees who used human smugglers to enter Turkey and Greece. Fieldwork was conducted in Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey over spring and summer 2011 and 2012.
Findings: This paper presents an adapted typology of violence using four categories of coercive violence: threats and pressure, physical force, deception and fraud, and coercion/advantage taking. Movement with human smugglers may involve the violation of consent and forms of exploitation resembling, but not equating to, human trafficking.
Research limitations/implications: The findings are based on a non-probability snowball sample, and are not generalisable. Further research should engage with other methods such as respondent driven sampling to gain more accurate estimates of violent events among smuggled migrants.
Practical implications: Governments must respond appropriately when apprehending or detaining migrants, as many of them have been victimised by violence and may remain vulnerable because of continued threats from human smugglers.
Originality/value: This paper presents a typology of violent acts against migrants using human smugglers, and can be used to develop further research and improve professional practice.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
human trafficking, violence, migrants, refugees, abuse;
This article discusses the plight of young Tamil asylum seekers who arrive in the UK with hopes of a better life. Many are dispersed into inner-city areas characterised by high crime rates and a concentration of social disadvantage. With few opportunities for upward social mobility, some young Tamils create an subculture on the streets of London, designed to achieve respect and status by using violence as a social currency. The article includes four short case studies reflecting the nature of gang-related violence within the Tamil community in London.
This article discusses the plight of young Tamil asylum seekers who arrive in the UK with hopes of a better life. Many are dispersed into inner-city areas characterised by high crime rates and a concentration of social disadvantage. With few opportunities for upward social mobility, some young Tamils create an subculture on the streets of London, designed to achieve respect and status by using violence as a social currency. The article includes four short case studies reflecting the nature of gang-related violence within the Tamil community in London.
Subject terms:
racism, refugees, social exclusion, violence, young people, asylum seekers, gangs;
Social Science and Medicine, 67(10), November 2008, pp.1596-1603.
Publisher:
Elsevier
The pre- and post-displacement factors associated with psychological problems among young refugees are not clear. From the existing research it appears that refugee children and adolescents are vulnerable to the effects of pre-migration exposure to trauma, but the long-term effects of such exposure are mediated by certain risk and protective factors at the individual, family and community level. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of traumatic experiences before emigration, as well as social life after immigration, on the mental health of young Middle Eastern refugees 8–9 years after immigration into Denmark. The study group comprises 131 young refugees (76 girls and 55 boys; mean age 15.3 years) from 67 families. They were assessed in 2000–2001 as part of a follow-up study as a stressful life context in exile, including discrimination, predicted psychological problems 8–9 years after arrival, more than traumatic experiences before arrival. Thus, the prevention of psychopathology in young refugees depends to a large extent on the political will to make provision for the necessary changes regarding reception and treatment of refugees.
The pre- and post-displacement factors associated with psychological problems among young refugees are not clear. From the existing research it appears that refugee children and adolescents are vulnerable to the effects of pre-migration exposure to trauma, but the long-term effects of such exposure are mediated by certain risk and protective factors at the individual, family and community level. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of traumatic experiences before emigration, as well as social life after immigration, on the mental health of young Middle Eastern refugees 8–9 years after immigration into Denmark. The study group comprises 131 young refugees (76 girls and 55 boys; mean age 15.3 years) from 67 families. They were assessed in 2000–2001 as part of a follow-up study of 311 children, who in 1992–1993 were consecutively registered in Denmark as asylum seekers with at least one parent. Predictors of more externalizing behaviour were: witnessing attack on others after arrival, more schools attended, less attending school or work, lower mother's education in the home country and lower age. Predictors of more internalizing behaviour were: numbers of types of traumatic events before arrival, numbers of types of stressful events after arrival, and numbers of types of experiences of discrimination, lower mother's education in the home country, fewer Danish friends, not Muslim or Christian religion, less Danish proficiency and female gender. It is concluded that aspects of social life in Denmark, including mother's education and indicators of adaptation, as well as a stressful life context in exile, including discrimination, predicted psychological problems 8–9 years after arrival, more than traumatic experiences before arrival. Thus, the prevention of psychopathology in young refugees depends to a large extent on the political will to make provision for the necessary changes regarding reception and treatment of refugees.
Subject terms:
mental health problems, Muslims, refugees, traumas, violence, young people, family relations;
Journal of Aggression Maltreatment and Trauma, 14(1/2), 2007, pp.147-164.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
This article focuses on expressions of resilience in a sample of 30 women from El Salvador and Guatemala who survived multiple types of violence, including war trauma, before taking refuge in the US. Traumatic impact, recovery, and resilience were assessed using the Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resilience Interview (MTRR-I) and rating scale, MTRR-99. Exposure to violence was assessed by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the MTRR-I. The study established that the women had suffered multiple and extreme forms of violence prior to and en route to the United States and yet were highly resilient on multiple MTRR domains when compared with a US sample. Implications for future research for assessment of trauma exposure and resilience among war-afflicted populations are discussed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
This article focuses on expressions of resilience in a sample of 30 women from El Salvador and Guatemala who survived multiple types of violence, including war trauma, before taking refuge in the US. Traumatic impact, recovery, and resilience were assessed using the Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resilience Interview (MTRR-I) and rating scale, MTRR-99. Exposure to violence was assessed by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the MTRR-I. The study established that the women had suffered multiple and extreme forms of violence prior to and en route to the United States and yet were highly resilient on multiple MTRR domains when compared with a US sample. Implications for future research for assessment of trauma exposure and resilience among war-afflicted populations are discussed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Subject terms:
refugees, resilience, traumas, violence, war, women;
Young people traumatised by violence in their own countries are confronting their past in storytelling sessions. The author visits the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture which aims to "put the child back together".
Young people traumatised by violence in their own countries are confronting their past in storytelling sessions. The author visits the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture which aims to "put the child back together".
Subject terms:
psychotherapy, refugees, traumas, violence, young people, children, counselling;
Journal of Family Therapy, 23(2), May 2001, pp.136-154.
Publisher:
Wiley
Article considers the psychological and political aspects of the suppression of memory and culture and how psychotherapy engages with these processes. Narrative, in its customary form as the creation of stories, is discussed as one of the ways of enabling survivors to be given a voice that allows them to process events of atrocity, displacement and exile. The usefulness of psychoanalytic ideas and their integration with systemic practice is demonstrated. The interplay between difficult psychotherapeutic material, the patient or family and the therapist is shown and the use of supervision noted. The discussion is exemplified with descriptions of therapeutic work with individuals, families and small groups.
Article considers the psychological and political aspects of the suppression of memory and culture and how psychotherapy engages with these processes. Narrative, in its customary form as the creation of stories, is discussed as one of the ways of enabling survivors to be given a voice that allows them to process events of atrocity, displacement and exile. The usefulness of psychoanalytic ideas and their integration with systemic practice is demonstrated. The interplay between difficult psychotherapeutic material, the patient or family and the therapist is shown and the use of supervision noted. The discussion is exemplified with descriptions of therapeutic work with individuals, families and small groups.
Subject terms:
psychotherapy, refugees, traumas, violence, war, asylum seekers;
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15(5), May 2000, pp.523-533.
Publisher:
Sage
This exploratory pilot project sought to determine what one group of Southeast Asian refugees, the Vietnamese, perceived were areas of difficulty in their adjustment to the United States. Findings were inconsistent and suggested that commonly used methods of identifying the occurrence of family violence may not accurately reflect its presence among populations that may fear repercussions
This exploratory pilot project sought to determine what one group of Southeast Asian refugees, the Vietnamese, perceived were areas of difficulty in their adjustment to the United States. Findings were inconsistent and suggested that commonly used methods of identifying the occurrence of family violence may not accurately reflect its presence among populations that may fear repercussions of admission.
Subject terms:
refugees, Vietnamese people, violence, Asian people, black and minority ethnic people, families;
Child Abuse and Neglect, 21(4), April 1997, pp.351-366.
Publisher:
Elsevier
Describes the prevalence and stability of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Iranian pre-school children exposed to war and persecution, who live as refugees in Sweden. The prevalence and stability of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) according to the DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria was used, a relationship which is rarely described.
Describes the prevalence and stability of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Iranian pre-school children exposed to war and persecution, who live as refugees in Sweden. The prevalence and stability of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) according to the DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria was used, a relationship which is rarely described.
Subject terms:
post traumatic stress disorder, refugees, stress, violence, war, children;
The current systematic review summarises the evidence from studies examining the risk and protective factors associated with family related violence in refugee families. Data included 15 peer-reviewed qualitative and quantitative studies. In order to gain an overview of the identified risk and protective factors an ecological model was used to structure the findings. At the individual level, parental trauma experiences/mental illness, substance abuse and history of child abuse were found to be risk factors. Family level risk factors included parent-child interaction, family structure and family acculturation stress. At the societal level low socioeconomic status was identified as a risk factor. Cultural level risk factors included patriarchal beliefs. Positive parental coping strategies were a protective factor. An ecological analysis of the results suggests that family related violence in refugee families is a result of accumulating, multiple risk factors on the individual, familial, societal and cultural level. The findings suggest that individual trauma and exile related stress do not only affect the individual but have consequences at a family level. Thus, interventions targeting family related violence should not only include the individual, but the family.
(Publisher abstract)
The current systematic review summarises the evidence from studies examining the risk and protective factors associated with family related violence in refugee families. Data included 15 peer-reviewed qualitative and quantitative studies. In order to gain an overview of the identified risk and protective factors an ecological model was used to structure the findings. At the individual level, parental trauma experiences/mental illness, substance abuse and history of child abuse were found to be risk factors. Family level risk factors included parent-child interaction, family structure and family acculturation stress. At the societal level low socioeconomic status was identified as a risk factor. Cultural level risk factors included patriarchal beliefs. Positive parental coping strategies were a protective factor. An ecological analysis of the results suggests that family related violence in refugee families is a result of accumulating, multiple risk factors on the individual, familial, societal and cultural level. The findings suggest that individual trauma and exile related stress do not only affect the individual but have consequences at a family level. Thus, interventions targeting family related violence should not only include the individual, but the family.
(Publisher abstract)