“If they misbehaved, we took a stick to discipline them”: Refugee mothers' struggles raising children in the United States

Abstract

Although there are compelling examples of stress put upon refugee families, there is little systematic attention placed upon how the refugee women themselves view child‐rearing. In this exploratory research, refugee women's narratives concerning their understanding and perceptions of child‐rearing in the United States are studied. Seventeen refugee women raising children living in the Greater Portland region in Maine were interviewed. While resettling in the United States, the participants shared being overburdened by the loss of social structures that supported their parenting beliefs and strategies back home. They perpetually encounter cultural conflicts in the United States that result in a continuous process of contradictory interpretations and negotiations while rearing and disciplining children. Recommendations are provided for service providers working with this population. Professionals have to be cognizant of the hierarchical decision‐making and retributive strategies used by refugee families when disciplining children. Tools, that is, explaining, teaching, and rewarding children for coping with parenting challenges without resorting to punitive discipline methods can be introduced to refugee families. Professionals need to focus on providing refugee families with basic needs and addressing social and emotional challenges so that they can better integrate with the new communities as they rebuild their lives.

‘Here, parents become nothing’: ‘Unparenting’ in Israel's policies toward Eritrean refugees

“…Many are exposed to multiple traumatic events in their home countries and during their journeys (Silove et al, 2017), and the resulting mental health challenges they face may hinder their emotional availability for their children (Okitikpi & Aymer, 2003). Further challenges include limited access to housing, to the job market and to health services; loneliness and the absence of extended family, which may also increase the stress involved in managing parenthood (Ayika et al, 2018; Stewart et al, 2015), and the need to navigate between their own cultural values and child‐rearing practices and those practiced in the receiving country (Kohli & Fineran, 2019; Stewart et al, 2015). Refugee parents also face various barriers in accessing social services, such as limited information and a lack of culturally and contextually aware service delivery (McCleary, 2017).…”