Refugee Youth Adaptation: The Role of Developmental Science

• In Event: 3-045 - The International Consortium of Developmental Science Societies: contributions on trauma, refugee youth, and climate change.

Integrative Statement

Migration is a defining issue of the 21st century. In addition to immigrants who have lived in different European and North American countries over a period of many years, and, in many cases, over generations, large numbers of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have been during these past few years forcibly displaced fleeing war and atrocities. Europe along has received 1 million refugees in 2015 alone, a large proportion of which are children and youth.
This wave of refugees has created serious concerns about economic drain on receiving countries, the diversion of resources away from citizens in need to refugees from other countries, personal safety, and the problems associated with integrating people from different cultures. These concerns may obscure the benefits for society of helping refugee children and youth achieve their potential so that they can contribute to society when they grow up.
Because so many refugees are children, strategies for helping them overcome the significant risks that they face need to be based on scientific evidence about the risks and resilience of children living in difficult conditions. Developmental scientists, who study the ways children grow, mature, and adapt to their environments, are uniquely suited to provide that evidence and use it to make recommendations. As members of the International Consortium of Developmental Sciences Societies (ICDSS), we have considered the plight of refugee children in the context of research, policies, and programs.
Refugees often experience situations that place their positive adjustment at risk, but some negative experiences are special to children and youth. The most adverse experiences that refugee youth face, are: a) the asylum experience, which is exacerbated by legal uncertainties; b) trauma before and during migration. Armed conflict, exploitation, rape, and recruitment into violence all pose severe risks to psychological well-being and child development; c) social isolation from their peers. Both ethnic and host national peers are important to positive adaptation and well-being; d) lack of access to education and e) the obstacles for their integration in the job market.
At this symposium, we will discuss the most common risks that refugee children and youth experience and the most prominent evidence-based recommendations that can help us address them in ways that promote positive development. Many possible futures are open for refugee children and youth. With programs that support them and their families, they can realize their potential and become valuable contributors to their new society.

Author

• Rob Crosnoe, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author