“Solving Tension”: coping among Bhutanese refugees in Nepal

Abstract

PurposeThe Bhutanese refugee camps of eastern Nepal are home to a mass resettlement operation; over half the population has been relocated within the past five years. While recent research suggests Bhutanese refugees are experiencing degradation of social networks and rising suicide rates, little is known about ethnocultural pathways to coping and resilience in this population.Design/methodology/approachA common coping measure (Brief COPE) was adapted to the linguistic and cultural context of the refugee camps and administered to a representative sample of 193 Bhutanese refugees as part of a broader ten‐month ethnographic study of resilience.FindingsActive coping, planning, and positive reframing were the most frequently utilized strategies, followed by acceptance, religion, and seeking emotional support. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in five factors: humor, denial, behavioral disengagement; positive reframing, planning, active coping; emotional support, instrumental support; interpersonal (a new sub‐scale), acceptance, self‐blame; and venting, religion.Research implicationsData support the relevance of some dimensions of coping while revealing particularities of this population.Practical implicationsFindings can inform future research and intervention efforts aimed at reducing suicide and promoting mental health across the Bhutanese refugee diaspora.Originality/valueThis is the first mixed‐methods study of coping in the Bhutanese refugee camp population since the start of a mass resettlement exercise. Qualitative data and ethnography were used to illuminate measured trends in local coping behavior.

Enablers of psychological well‐being for refugees and asylum seekers living in transitional countries: A systematic review

“…Studies were published between 2002 and 2018. Four were quantitative cross sectional designs (Chase, Welton‐Mitchell, & Bhattarai, ; Emmelkamp, Komproe, Van Ommeren, & Schagen, ; Nakash, Nagar, Shoshani, & Lurie, ; Segal, Khoury, Salah, & Ghannam, ), 10 were qualitative studies (Akinyemi, Owoaje, & Cadmus, ; Chase & Sapkota, ; Cohen & Asgary, ; Elsass & Phuntsok, ; Hussain & Bhushan, ; Khawaja et al, ; Labys, Dreyer, & Burns, ; Lavie‐Ajayi & Slonim‐Nevo, ; Pavlish, ; Tippens, ) and two were mixed methods studies. From the mixed methods studies only the qualitative data were extracted for this review due to the quantitative components focusing solely on barriers (Chemali, Borba, Johnson, Khair, & Fricchione, ; Muhwezi & Sam, ).…”

“…Studies were conducted in various ( n = 11) host countries including three studies in Nepal (Chase & Sapkota, ; Chase et al, ; Emmelkamp et al, ) (Chase & Sapkota, ; Chase et al, ; Emmelkamp et al, ), two in Lebanon (Chemali et al, ; Segal et al, ), two in India (Elsass & Phuntsok, ; Hussain & Bhushan, ), and two in Israel (Lavie‐Ajayi & Slonim‐Nevo, ; Nakash et al, ). Studies were also conducted in Nigeria (Akinyemi et al, ), Thailand (Cohen & Asgary, ), Australia (retrospectively focused on coping during transit period in other host countries) (Khawaja et al, ), South Africa (Labys et al, ), Uganda (Muhwezi & Sam, ), Rwanda (Pavlish, ), and Kenya (Tippens, ).…”

“…Qualitative study sample sizes ranged from 8 to 102, with total of 500 participants and a mean number of 41.7. Two of the quantitative studies used random sampling (Chase et al, ; Emmelkamp et al, ) and two used convenience sampling (Nakash et al, ; Segal et al, ). The qualitative studies used a variety of participant sampling methods.…”

“…Participants came from various cultural backgrounds or countries of origin ( n = 15). Countries of origin included Bhutan (Chase & Sapkota, ; Chase et al, ; Emmelkamp et al, ); Eritrea (Nakash et al, ); Palestine (Segal et al, ), Syria (Chemali et al, ; Segal et al, ); Liberia (Akinyemi et al, ), Sierra Leone (Akinyemi et al, ); Myanmar/Burma (Cohen & Asgary, ); Tibet (Elsass & Phuntsok, ; Hussain & Bhushan, ); Sudan (Khawaja et al, ; Lavie‐Ajayi & Slonim‐Nevo, ; Muhwezi & Sam, ; Nakash et al, ); Zimbabwe (Labys et al, ), Somalia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Kenya (Muhwezi & Sam, ); and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Labys et al, ; Muhwezi & Sam, ; Pavlish, ; Tippens, ).…”

An Investigation into Suicides Among Bhutanese Refugees Resettled in the United States Between 2008 and 2011

“…In addition to cultural assimilation barriers, refugees experience a devaluation of their professional skills and face subsequent economic challenges both in refugee camps (where they are not permitted to work) and after migration where language skills and institutional barriers must be overcome before employment is viable. Chase et al, found that Bhutanese refugees preferred to cope independently and tended to blame themselves for failures [51, 52]. Additionally, findings from Sri Lanka suggest that suicides are understood and used as performative acts of protest or retaliation, often following family conflict [44, 53].…”