Associations between Traumatic Experience and Resilience in Adolescent Refugees: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Research on adolescent refugee resilience is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of adaptation to resettlement areas and integration into a new country. However, the current literature does not provide clear evidence on the determinants of resilience factors and the association between traumatic experiences and resilience among adolescent refugees. Four electronic databases were searched to identify relevant articles. Inclusion criteria for articles were (i) potential traumatic experience was the independent variable and resilience was an outcome variable of the study, (ii) association between traumatic experiences and resilience was reported, (iii) participants of the study included adolescent refugees or asylum seekers and (iv) to be peer-reviewed publications based on primary data, written in English and published between 1 January 2010 and 20 January 2022. Eight articles were included in this scoping review. The review found that most of the included studies identified individual, relational/family and contextual/cultural factors as determinants of resilience. However, there were inconsistencies in the association between traumatic experiences and resilience. This review suggests that intervention strategies implemented among adolescent refugees should focus on enhancing individual, family/relational, and cultural/social factors to protect adolescents from possible poor mental health consequences after exposure to trauma.

Keywords

• potential traumatic experience
• resilience
• refugees
• asylum-seeker
• adolescent