Resilience and Positive Wellbeing Experienced by 5–12-Year-Old Children with Refugee Backgrounds in Australia: The Childhood Resilience Study

Elisha Riggs, Deirdre Gartland (), Josef Szwarc, Mardi Stow, Georgia Paxton and Stephanie J. Brown
Additional contact information
Elisha Riggs: Intergenerational Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
Deirdre Gartland: Intergenerational Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
Josef Szwarc: Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, Melbourne, VIC 3056, Australia
Mardi Stow: Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, Melbourne, VIC 3056, Australia
Georgia Paxton: Immigrant Health Service, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
Stephanie J. Brown: Intergenerational Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Refugee research tends to be deficit based and focused on the risks threatening positive adaptation and wellbeing. High rates of mental (and physical) health issues have been reported for refugee adults and children, including intergenerational trauma. This study uses the new Child Resilience Questionnaire (CRQ), co-designed with refugee background communities, to describe resilience and positive wellbeing experienced by children of refugee-background. The Childhood Resilience Study (CRS) recruited 1132 families with children aged 5–12 years in Victoria and South Australia, Australia. This included the recruitment of 109 families from 4 refugee background communities: Assyrian Chaldean (Iraq, Syria), Hazara (Afghanistan), Karen (Burma, Thailand) and Sierra Leonean families. CRQ-parent/caregiver report (CRQ-P/C) scores were categorised into ‘low’, ‘moderate’ and ‘high’. The child’s emotional and behavioural wellbeing was assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, with positive wellbeing defined as <17 on the total difficulties score. Tobit regression models adjusted for a child’s age. The CRQ-P/C scores were not different for boys and girls of refugee background. Children of refugee-background (n = 109) had higher average CRQ-P/C scores than other CRS children (n = 1023) in the personal, school and community domains, but were lower in the family domain. Most children with ‘high’ resilience scores had positive wellbeing for both children of refugee-background (94.6%) and other CRS children (96.5%). Contrary to common stereotypes, children of refugee-background show specific individual, family, school and cultural strengths that can help them navigate cumulative and complex risks to sustain or develop their positive wellbeing. A better understanding as to how to build strengths at personal, family, peer, school and community levels where children are vulnerable is an important next step. Working in close collaboration with refugee communities, schools, policy makers and key service providers will ensure the optimal translation of these findings into sustainable practice and impactful public policy.

Keywords: refugee; resilience; child; positive wellbeing; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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