The Importance of Local and Global Social Ties for the Mental Health and Well-Being of Recently Resettled Refugee-Background Women in Australia

Kate E. Murray (), Caroline Lenette, Mark Brough, Katherine Reid, Ignacio Correa-Velez, Lyn Vromans and Robert D. Schweitzer
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Kate E. Murray: School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia
Caroline Lenette: School of Social Sciences, Big Anxiety Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Mark Brough: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia
Katherine Reid: School of Allied Health, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane 4000, Australia
Ignacio Correa-Velez: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia
Lyn Vromans: School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia
Robert D. Schweitzer: School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: Social connections are foundational to the human condition and are inherently disrupted when people are forcibly displaced from their home countries. At a time of record high global forced migration, there is value in better understanding how refugee-background individuals engage theirsocial supports or ties in resettlement contexts. A mixed methods research design aimed to understand the complexities of how 104 refugee-background women experienced their social networks in the first few months of resettlement in Australia. One of the research activities involved participants completing a survey with both quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative analyses identified the impact of post-migration living difficulties that represented social stressors (worry about family, loneliness and boredom, feeling isolated, and racial discrimination) on the women’s mental health outcomes in the months following resettlement. The qualitative data highlighted the complexities of social relationships serving as both stressors and sources of support, and the importance of recognizing extended families and supports around the globe. The findings point to the need for nuanced accounts of the social contexts surrounding refugee resettlement as important influences able to promote trauma-informed and gender sensitive practices to support mental health and well-being in new settings.

Keywords: social ties; social support; forced displacement; resettlement; Australia; mixed methods research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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