European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Volume 26, Issue 11, 2017, Pages 1387-1400

“We would never forget who we are”: resettlement, cultural negotiation, and family relationships among Somali Bantu refugees (Article)

Frounfelker R.L.* , Assefa M.T. , Smith E. , Hussein A. , Betancourt T.S.
  • a Research Program on Children and Global Adversity, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, United States, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Kresge Building, Boston, MA 02115, United States
  • b Research Program on Children and Global Adversity, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, United States
  • c Research Program on Children and Global Adversity, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, United States, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
  • d Shanbaro Community Association, Chelsea Collaborative, 318 Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150, United States
  • e Research Program on Children and Global Adversity, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, United States

Abstract

Somali refugees are resettling in large numbers in the US, but little is known about the Somali Bantu, an ethnic minority within this population. Refugee youth mental health is linked to the functioning of the larger family unit. Understanding how the process of culturally adjusting to life after resettlement relates to family functioning can help identify what kind of interventions might strengthen families and lead to better mental health outcomes for youth. This paper seeks to address the following research questions: (1) How do different groups of Somali Bantu refugees describe their experiences of culturally adapting to life in the US?; and (2) How, if at all, do processes of cultural adaptation in a new country affect Somali Bantu family functioning? We conducted 14 focus groups with a total of 81 Somali Bantu refugees in New England. Authors analyzed focus groups using principles of thematic analysis to develop codes and an overarching theoretical model about the relationship between cultural adaptation, parent–child relationships, and family functioning. Views and expectations of parent–child relationships were compared between Somali Bantu youth and adults. Cultural negotiation was dependent upon broader sociocultural contexts in the United States that were most salient to the experience of the individual. Adult and youth participants had conflicting views around negotiating Somali Bantu culture, which often led to strained parent–child relationships. In contrast, youth sibling relationships were strengthened, as they turned to each other for support in navigating the process of cultural adaptation. © 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Author Keywords

resettlement Youth mental health Cultural negotiation Refugees Somali Bantu Family relationships

Index Keywords

sibling family functioning refugee interpersonal communication mental health human Negotiating Refugees trends United States Young Adult Humans psychology Adolescent male female juvenile theoretical model Family Relations thematic analysis adult human experiment migration family relation Somalia Emigration and Immigration expectation Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85018788021&doi=10.1007%2fs00787-017-0991-1&partnerID=40&md5=b28472a4e1f87f7f855d37a4270a6310
DOI: 10.1007/s00787-017-0991-1
ISSN: 10188827
Cited by: 6
Original Language: English