Nowhere is as at home: adjustment strategies of recent immigrant women from the former Yugoslav Republics in southeast Queensland

Abstract

This paper analyses adjustment strategies of women from the former Yugoslav Republics who have settled in Australia since 1991. The majority of these recent immigrants have been humanitarian settlers and refugees, and this has had specific implications for their adjustment strategies. In-depth interviews were conducted during 1996-97 with 52 former Yugoslavian-born women who resided in southeast Queensland. The women's assessments of their decision to immigrate resulted in three adjustment strategies: (1) loss orientation, (2) ambivalence and (3) future orientation. Described separately, this typology delineates only ideal types, but is predictive of the kinds of settlement and coping issues that are faced by individual immigrants. The adjustment strategies are primarily affected by the women's status as independent immigrants or refugees and humanitarian settlers, social capital and social constraints in the host country.

Barriers Accessing Mental Health Services Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Immigrant Women in Australia: Policy Implications

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“…Across many studies, participants voiced their difficulties in communicating with service providers due to lack of proficiency in English [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Fear of being judged, of not being understood, of losing their job, of being hospitalised and of community and family's reactions were major concerns [25].…”

Iraqi refugees in Jordan: Lessons for practice with refugees globally

“…Moreover, refugees express their need to become part of the receiving society by establishing closer ties with the native community while retaining a sense of their own identity (Korác, 2003). The process of integration results in various adaptation strategies based on the characteristics of individuals: socio-demographic background, legal status, access to formal and informal social support, employment status, financial difficulties, health, language skills, children's prospects, and the current social, economic and political context of their countries of origin (Markovic and Manderson, 2000). These strategies may include self-help systems established in refugee and migrant networks, thereby encouraging refugees to become self-sufficient in a short period (Korác, 2003).…”

Recovering In-validated Adulthood, Masculinity and Sexuality

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