Young people from refugee backgrounds face enormous challenges in the settlement process within Australia. They must locate themselves within a new social, cultural, geographic and adult space, yet also try to find security within the spaces of their own families and ethnic communities. Traumas of the past can mix with painful experiences of the present. The stresses on the lives of these young people can be both complex and diverse. This paper explores the nature of the stresses among young people from refugee backgrounds living in Australia. It is based on in-depth interviews with 76 young people from refugee backgrounds now living in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. A qualitative analysis of the impact of these stressors as well as the coping strategies employed are discussed. It is argued that trauma exists within a life continuum and t hat approaches to supporting young people in these circumstances should be wary of limiting their focus to biomedical categories such as PostTraumatic Stress Disorder or Acculturation Stress and instead focus on a wider social context.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract