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ERIC Number: EJ981854
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0037-8046
EISSN: N/A
A Risk and Resilience Perspective on Unaccompanied Refugee Minors
Carlson, Bonnie E.; Cacciatore, Joanne; Klimek, Barbara
Social Work, v57 n3 p259-269 Jul 2012
In the United States, unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) are a diverse and extremely vulnerable group served by social workers about whom there is little research. URMs enter the United States from many lands without parents or kin, often having experienced war and other traumatic events. Using a risk and resilience framework, we summarize the research on URMs, illustrating the challenges and issues with a case study of a resilient Lost Boy from Sudan who became a social worker. We discuss strengths, coping strategies, and resilience, exploring the ways in which many URMs are able to effectively meet the challenge of adapting to a new country and culture, thriving despite the extreme adversity they have experienced, as well as sources of resilience within URMs that have allowed them to adapt and even thrive in a vastly different cultural environment despite exposure to multiple risks. These sources of resilience include positive outlook, use of healthy coping mechanisms and religiosity, and connectedness to prosocial organizations. We conclude with recommendations for social work research to better understand the nature of risk and resilience among URMs.
Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://sw.oxfordjournals.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A