The Relationships That Help Teenage Syrian Refugees Cope With Stress

Abstract

Millions of Syrians have been displaced due to the events of war since 2011. Among those, half of them are youth under the age of 18. In 2015, Canada launched an initiative to be a new home for Syrian refugees, and youth accounted for a large amount of those resettled. Pre-migration and post-migration stressors have been noted to have profound impacts on mental health and well-being. Additionally, adolescence is a crucial period of psychosocial development, which for Syrian youth has been drastically changed as a consequence of war. This includes being uprooted from their communities of family, friends, and religious groups, as such social support systems are important resources in buffering against stress. The research surrounding adolescent Syrian refugees’ experiences of stress and coping is slowly growing. However, little is known about how teenage Syrian refugees in Canada utilize social support. Therefore, it is important to gain understanding of how teenage Syrian refugees use their social support systems to cope with stressors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescent Syrian refugees (n=9) aged 16-18 who live in Ontario. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings suggest that youth face pre migration stressors related to the war and post migration stressors related to acculturation and navigating the education system. Family, peers, school staff, and organizations were identified as forms of social support, with each group having unique reasons as to why they were selected. Coping behaviours were broadly categorized as being inherently individualistic or collectivistic. Teenage Syrian refugees draw upon or seek out resources to navigate complex situations they are faced with, and cultural values influence the stress and coping process. These findings may have implications for mental health providers who work with teenage Syrian refugees, the education system, and policy makers who focus on refugees.