Developing Preventive Mental Health Interventions for Refugee Families in Resettlement

Abstract

In refugee resettlement, positive psychosocial outcomes for youth and adults depend to a great extent on their families. Yet refugee families find few empirically based services geared toward them. Preventive mental health interventions that aim to stop, lessen, or delay possible negative individual mental health and behavioral sequelae through improving family and community protective resources in resettled refugee families are needed. This paper describes 8 characteristics that preventive mental health interventions should address to meet the needs of refugee families, including: Feasibility, Acceptability, Culturally Tailored, Multilevel, Time Focused, Prosaicness, Effectiveness, and Adaptability. To address these 8 characteristics in the complex environment of refugee resettlement requires modifying the process of developmental research through incorporating innovative mental health services research strategies, including: resilience framework, community collaboration, mixed methods with focused ethnography, and the comprehensive dynamic trial. A preventive intervention development cycle for refugee families is proposed based on a program of research on refugees and migrants using these services research strategies. Furthering preventive mental health for refugee families also requires new policy directives, multisystemic partnerships, and research training.

Discrimination and Distress among Afghan Refugees in Northern California: The Moderating Role of Pre- and Post-Migration Factors

“…The many social services agencies serving Afghans in Alameda County, where we recruited participants for this study, could facilitate this. Weine [34] though suggests that in addition to improving refugee community bonds, building social bridges between refugee and non-refugee communities is necessary for promoting integration, and to avoid having strongly bonded but disconnected communities. In relation to this, previous research has argued that strong ethnic identity (likely found in bonded communities) sometimes increases the negative influence of discrimination [23], because discrimination is perceived as assaulting a core part of the self.…”

Natural Disaster and International Development

“…The predominant remaining buildings are 1970s concrete multistoreys (under ten storeys), indicating there must have been an engineering practice in reinforced concrete introduced during this era that made these buildings more resilient to the movement that causes earthquake damage. While the vast majority of community aid following disaster is based on infrastructure rehabilitation, social networks are also an important aspect of rebuilding and the nurturing of social networks develops trust and interconnectedness [22]. However, it is the social effect of the trauma of earthquake, or constant demolition, or the large rents in the fabric of the built form that has characterised Christchurch's citizen's everyday lives that also demands the most attention.…”

“…These are non-specific distress, health problems or concerns (somatic complaints and medical conditions, quality of sleep), chronic problems in living (interpersonal relationships, occupational stress and financial stress, ecological stress), psychosocial resource loss (perceived social support, social embeddedness, self-efficacy, optimism) and problems specific to youth (clinginess, dependence, loss of sleep, aggressive behaviour, separation anxiety) [32]. As Weine points out, it is only comparatively recently that scholars have integrated 'social capital measures into a quantitative study of rehabilitation' [33]. Social capital is defined as the 'networks, norms and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit' [11].…”

“…However, the traditional formula for the recovery rate is provided by Dacy and Kunreuther who argue that 'the speed of recovery following a disaster will be determined primarily by the magnitude of physical damage' [7]. It was thus thought that the amount of damage would determine the rate of recovery, but more recent research has turned instead to community regeneration through the resilience of social capital in postcrisis recovery [34]. As Weine also suggests, social ties form a kind of 'informal insurance' of ready-made support networks-providing information, financial and administrative support and guidance.…”

“…Politically active communities can present demands and extract resources better. Trustworthy neighbours share information, prevent duping and looting and maintain the relative integrity of community relations [35]. Furthermore, embedded networks raise the costs of 'exit' for individuals-as networks carry latent effects which benefit individuals in a shared community.…”