Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Research Program on Children and Adversity, Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States.
Soc Sci Med. 2020 Nov;264:113311. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113311. Epub 2020 Aug 21.
Refugees have elevated risk of psychological distress and mental health disorders compared to the general population. The majority of research has been conducted with youth and younger adults, and little is known about the mental health of older refugees. We apply the theoretical framework of meaning making to understand how older Bhutanese with a refugee life experience cope with migratory traumas and grief.
We conduct semi-structured individual interviews with 41 ethnic-Nepali Bhutanese aged 50 and over with a refugee life experience resettled in the United States and analyze data using thematic content analysis.
Forced expulsion from Bhutan was viewed as a violation of core ethnic-Nepali beliefs and sense of purpose related to collective identity. Throughout their 30-year refugee life trajectory, participants utilized coping strategies, including interpersonal support, reappraisal of experiences of trauma and loss, and helping oneself by helping others, that were informed by, and strengthened, this collective identity. These strategies served to both reaffirm worldviews and make new, positive meaning out of a refugee life experience. Individuals who were unable to leverage these strategies struggled to find meaning.
We discuss study implications for psychosocial services for older refugees and contribution to theory on meaning making among diverse, vulnerable populations who experience multiple traumas and loss.
与一般人群相比，难民面临更高的心理困扰和心理健康障碍风险。大多数研究都是针对青年和年轻成年人进行的，对于老年难民的心理健康知之甚少。我们应用意义建构的理论框架来理解经历过难民生活的老年不丹族如何应对移民创伤和悲伤。
我们对 41 名年龄在 50 岁及以上、有难民生活经历的民族尼泊尔裔不丹人进行了半结构化的个体访谈，这些人已在美国重新定居，我们使用主题内容分析方法分析数据。
被逐出不丹被视为对核心民族尼泊尔信仰和与集体认同相关的目的感的侵犯。在他们 30 年的难民生活轨迹中，参与者利用了应对策略，包括人际支持、对创伤和损失经历的重新评价，以及通过帮助他人来帮助自己，这些策略受到并加强了这种集体认同。这些策略不仅有助于重新确认世界观，还能从难民生活经历中创造出新的积极意义。那些无法利用这些策略的人则难以找到意义。
我们讨论了对老年难民的心理社会服务的研究意义，并为在经历多次创伤和丧失的不同、弱势人群中关于意义建构的理论做出了贡献。
