Negotiating family, navigating resettlement: family connectedness amongst resettled youth with refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

Refugee adolescents resettling in a new country face many challenges, and being part of a supportive family is a critical factor in assisting them to achieve wellbeing and create positive futures. This longitudinal study documents experiences of family life in the resettlement context of 120 young people with refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia. Family instability was a core feature of the early settlement period. In this paper, we focus specifically on changing household composition, and levels of trust, attachment, discipline and conflict in family settings during young people's first years of resettlement. Our results suggest that while families are central to the wellbeing of these young people, changing family dynamics can also pose a threat to wellbeing and successful settlement. We argue that youth focused settlement services must explicitly engage with family contexts in assisting refugee youth to achieve wellbeing and successfully resettle.

Keywords:

• refugee
• youth
• family

Acknowledgements

Funding for the Good Starts study was provided by The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House) and La Trobe University. We thank Noble Park ELS, Western ELS and Broadmeadows ELC, the interpreters, community bicultural workers and multicultural education aides who assisted in this study. Thank you also to the investigators, project team and staff. And thank you to the young people who participated in this study. Ignacio Correa-Velez is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Public Health Fellowship (Grant No. 380845).