Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 18, Issue 4, 2016, Pages 771-778

The Impact of Acculturation Style and Acculturative Hassles on the Mental Health of Somali Adolescent Refugees (Article)

Lincoln A.K.* , Lazarevic V. , White M.T. , Ellis B.H.
  • a Department of Health Sciences, Institute on Urban Health Research and Practice, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 521 Holmes Hall, Boston, MA 02115, United States, Department of Sociology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
  • b Department of Psychiatry, Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States
  • c Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States
  • d Department of Psychiatry, Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States

Abstract

Refugee adolescents often immigrate to a new society because of experiences of persecution and trauma, which can have profound effects on their mental health. Once they immigrate, many refugees experience stressors related to resettlement and acculturation in the new society. The current study examined relationships among acculturation styles and hassles and the well-being of young refugees as well as the role of gender. Data were collected from 135 young refugees (Mage = 15.39, SD = 2.2; 62 % male) from Somalia resettled in the United States The findings from our study indicate that in addition to trauma history, acculturative hassles and acculturation style impact the wellbeing of Somali refugee adolescents. These findings indicate the need to understand both past experiences as well as current challenges. Potential areas for intervention are discussed. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Mental health Refugees Acculturative hassles Acculturation Adolescents

Index Keywords

Somalia Stress, Psychological mental stress Acculturation male depression female Humans refugee cultural factor ethnology United States mental health human epidemiology Refugees psychology Adolescent
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84930531750&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-015-0232-y&partnerID=40&md5=1722fcde1b5036e6087017136839d8f7
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-015-0232-y
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 26
Original Language: English