What happens to family dynamics in a protracted refugee situation?

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The vast majority of refugees are part of a family displaced to a situation with no clear ending in sight. Yet the focus of most research on displacement has been to study refugees as individuals outside of the family and in high-income countries outside of the context of protracted displacement. In this symposium, we highlight how war-affected families function in a protracted refugee situation and discuss how parenting under these circumstances could play a key role in shaping the development of a refugee child. We start by describing a systematic review on parenting in protracted refugee situations, to illuminate the current research landscape. Departing from this bird's eye view comes the second paper, which is a deep dive into how war experiences continue to influence the child during protracted displacement and how parenting can mitigate these impacts. Building on this research is a paper revealing how an often-overlooked factor in the broader literature can predict parenting behaviors in protracted refugee situations. Fathers and how they interact with their spouses are shown in the third paper as a significant factor in predicting child developmental outcomes among Syrian refugees in Jordan. The last paper completes this symposium in two ways: it features one of the most protracted refugee populations, Palestinians, and provides robust evidence demonstrating the positive impacts on children of involving fathers in parenting interventions. Thus, this symposium will cover what is known about parenting in protracted refugee situations, how it influences children, how it is shaped, and how to intervene.

Sub Unit

• Solicited Content: Displacement Related

Chair

• Qusai Khraisha, Trinity College Dublin

Individual Presentations

• Parenting in Protracted Refugee Situations: Systematic Review - Presenting Author: Qusai Khraisha, Trinity College Dublin; Beatrice Volta, University of Padova; Nadeen Abu Jaber, Trinity College, Dublin; Azza Warraitch, Trinity College Dublin; Kristin Hadfield, Trinity College Dublin

• The Longitudinal Impact of War Exposure and Parenting on Self-Development of Syrian Refugee Adolescents in Lebanon - Presenting Author: Hend Eltanamly, Utrecht University; Candace Jasmine Black, Queen Mary University of London; Cassandra Popham, Queen Mary University of London; Fiona S McEwen, Queen Mary University of London; Elie Karam, Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care; Sander Thomaes, Universiteit Utrecht; Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London

• Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Father involvement, family dynamics, and child development - Presenting Author: Catherine Panter-Brick, Yale University; Kristin Hadfield, Trinity College Dublin; Majd Al-Soleiti, Tahgyeer Foundation; Lama Sawalha, Jordan Hospital; Isabelle Mareschal, Queen Mary University of London; Rana Dajani, Hashemite University

• Don’t Give Up on Dads: The Successful Involvement of Syrian Refugee Fathers in the Caregiver Support Intervention in Lebanon - Presenting Author: Kenneth E. Miller, University of British Columbia (UBC); Maguy Arnous, War Child Lebanon; Fadila Tossyeh, War Child Lebanon; Alexandra Chen, Harvard University; Ahmed El Hassan, War Child Lebanon; Ahmad Saleh, War Child Lebanon; Mark J. D. Jordans, University of Amsterdam