Return to search

The Experiences of Refugee Youth from the Conflicts in the Sudan: A Collective Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of familial protective factors in moderating the relationship between risk and resilience in Sudanese refugee youth exposed to political violence. Interviews, direct observations, and physical artifacts were the sources of data. Eight Lost Boys participated in the study, providing narratives of their experiences of the Sudanese civil wars. They also answered questions posed about the role of familial protective factors in moderating the relationship between risk and resilience. The interviews were recorded on audiotape and then transcribed. Data consisted of the transcripts and field notes of processes and observations. The field notes also included the Contact Summary Form, and when a physical artifact was obtained, an Art Work Analysis Form. The transcripts and field notes were later analyzed and coded.
Eventually themes emerged. The results of the study indicate that familial protective factors play a role in moderating the relationship between risk and resilience in Sudanese refugee youth exposed to political violence. However, not all familial protective factors play a role nor those that do play a role do so equally. Some factors were more important than others as indicated by their frequency of being mentioned by the participants. Also, familial protective factors do not play a sole or primary role in moderating the relationship between risk and resilience. It appeared that initially familial protective factors were the sole protective mechanism. However, once the youth were separated from their families of origin and, given their extreme circumstances and need for protection and support, they quickly sought and developed other sources of support. Given the presence of their peers and little else as potential sources of support it seems natural that the peer group evolved as a surrogate family over a period of time. Eventually, the participants come to rely on their peers/surrogate family as their primary source of support. Finally, implications and recommendations for policy, practice, and future research were noted.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-06122007-174354
Date13 June 2007
CreatorsKelly, Michele
ContributorsPamela Ann Monroe, Joan Hymel Benedict, Mary E. Garrison, Lisa K. Lundy, Ioan I. Negulescu
PublisherLSU
Source SetsLouisiana State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06122007-174354/
Rightsunrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.

Page generated in 0.0025 seconds