Refugee Children and Resettlement in the United States
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Authors
Kerber, Rachel
Issue Date
2017-05-01
Type
thesis_open
Language
Keywords
Early Childhood Education
Psychiatry and Psychology
Alternative Title
Child Development Theses
Abstract
The number of displaced people worldwide has dramatically increased in the last few years, so it is imperative that we study how their experiences affect refugees in the long-term. With a particular focus on children, I reviewed the literature to learn about the stressors that refugees often face during displacement, migration, and resettlement in a new country, and the impact that these stressors may have on their mental health. I investigated how psychosocial support services and certain best practices can ease the refugee family’s transition to a new country upon resettlement. In addition, I interned at HIAS, a resettlement agency, to gain firsthand experience with the resettlement procedure in the United States and the process of starting a resettlement program in a new area. In the second half of my thesis, I describe my experiences interning in this field and how the political context of resettlement changed with the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.