Skip to main content
Log in

A Theoretical Understanding of Refugee Trauma

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Clinical Social Work Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of trauma on refugees are long-lasting, both physically and mentally. The primary objective of this paper is to broaden the scope of theoretical knowledge on refugee trauma by building on refugee, Post-Colonial, Trauma and Feminist theories, and emphasizing refugee trauma as a consequence of multiple historical, social and political constraints which are embedded in the personal experiences of refugees. By incorporating these various theories, the author proposes an integrated model to aid service providers in identifying the various trauma factors associated with refugees, as well as to facilitate the development of efficient service delivery mechanisms for this population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackerman, L. K. (1997). Health problems of refugees: Clinical review. Journal of American Board of Family Practice, 10(5), 337–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. (1995). Not outside the range. In C. Caruth (Ed.), Trauma: Explorations in memory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burstow, B. (1992). Radical feminist therapy: Working in the context of violence. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burstow, B. (2003). Towards a radical understanding of trauma. Violence against Women, 9(11), 1293–1317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burstow, B. (2004). Progressive psychotherapy and the psychiatric survivor movement. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 44(2), 141–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burstow, B. (2005). A critique of post-traumatic stress disorder and the DSM. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 45(4), 429–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Council for Refugees. (2002). Who makes the laws in Canada: Parliament or the politicians? Dec. http://www.ccrweb.ca/RADdec02.htm.

  • Collins, J. (1996). An analysis of the voluntariness in refugee repatriation in Africa. Manitoba: University of Manitoba Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, A. (1996). Women in conflict zones network. Discussion Paper No. 1, York University, June 18. Toronto.

  • Crosby, A. (2006). The boundaries of belonging: Reflections on migration policies into the 21st century. Inter Pares Occasional Paper, No. 7, June.

  • Dohrenwend, B. P., Shrout, P. E., Egri, G., & Mendelsohn, P. S. (1980). Measures of nonspecific psychological distress and other dimensions of psychopathology in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 1229–1236.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Douvergne, C. (2005). Humanitarianism, identity and nation: Migration laws in Canada and Australia. Vancouver: UBC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fazel, M., Wheeler, J., & Danesh, J. (2005). Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7,000 refugees resettled in western countries: A systematic review. The Lancet, 365, 9467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagne, M. A. (1998). The role of dependency and colonialism in generating trauma in first nations citizens. In Y. Danieli (Ed.), International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavagan, T., & Brodyaga, L. (1998). Medical care for immigrants and refugees. American Family Physician, 57(5), 1061–1068.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Handlin, O. (1951). The uprooted. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haraway, D. (1989). Primate visions: Gender, race, and nature in the world of modern science. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, S. (1998). Is science multicultural? Postcolonialisms, feminisms, and epistemologies. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, S. (2000). Decentering the center. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyndman, J. (1996). International responses to human displacement: Neo-liberalism and post-cold war geopolitics. Refuge, 15(3), 5–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyndman, J. (1999). Gender and Canadian immigration policy: A current snapshot. Canadian Woman Studies, 19(3), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyndman, J. (2000). Managing differences: Gender and culture in humanitarian emergencies. In J. Hyndman (Ed.), Managing displacement: Refugees and the politics of humanitarianism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyndman, J., Beveridge, E., Casperson, D., & Niven, T. (2006). Irresponsibility indicates an inability to be strong. Algebra universalis, 55(4), 457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. (2004). Canada and the globalized immigrant. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(10), 1263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapur, R. (2002). The tragedy of victimization rhetoric: Resurrecting the “native” subject in international/post-colonial feminist legal politics. Harvard Human Rights Journal, 15, 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kneebone, S. Y. (2005). What we have done with the refugee convention: The Australian way. Law in Context, 5(2), 83–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koren, D., Arnon, I., & Klein, E. (1999). Acute stress response and posttraumatic stress disorder in traffic accident victims: A one-year prospective follow-up study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 367–373.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kroll, J. (2000). Use of no-suicide contracts by psychiatrists in Minnesota. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1684–1686.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kunz, E. (1973). The refugee in flight: Kinetic models and forms of displacement. International Migration Review, 7, 125–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunz, E. (1981). Exile and resettlement: Refugee theory. International Migration Review, 15, 42–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, T. (1999). Living beside: Performing normal after incest memories return. Toronto: McGilligan Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macklin, A. (2004). At the border of rights, migration, sex-work and trafficking. In N. Gordon (Ed.), From the margins of globalization: Critical perspective on human rights. Hanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchand, M., & Parpart, J. (1995). Feminism/postmodernism/development. London: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. (2004). Sexuality, violence against women, and human rights: Women make demands and ladies get protection. Health and Human Rights, 7(2), 17–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mollica, R. F. (1999). The trauma and reconstruction of societies devastated by mass violence. Institute for Development Anthropology, 17 (1–2), Spring & Fall.

  • Mollica, R. F. (2006). Healing invisible wounds: Paths to hope and recovery in a violent world. New York: Harcourt Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mollica, R. F., Donlan, K., Tor, S., Lavelle, E. C., Frankel, M., & Blendon, R. J. (1993). The effect of trauma and confinement on functional health and mental health status of Cambodians living in Thailand-Cambodia border camps. Journal of the American Medical Association, 270, 581–586.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mollica, R. F., Sarajlic, N., & Chernoff, M. (2001). Longitudinal study of psychiatric symptoms, disability, mortality, and emigration among Bosnian refugees. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 546–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nieves, G. B. (2001). Nothing is true, nor is it a lie? Statewatch. http://www.statewatch.org/news/2003/jul/21spain.htm.

  • Paludan, A. (1974). The new refugees in Europe. Geneva: University Exchange Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paludan, A. (1981). Refugees in Europe. International Migration Review, XV.

  • Payne, M. (2005). Modern social work theory. Chicago: Lyceum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pell, S. K. (1995). Adjudication of gender persecution cases under the Canada guidelines: The United States has no reason to fear an onslaught of asylum claims. North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulations, 20, 655–684.

    Google Scholar 

  • Philip, K. (2004). Civilizing natures: Race, resources and modernity in colonial South India. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M., & Haslam, N. (2005). Predisplacement and Postdisplacement factors associated with mental health of refugees and internally displaced persons. Journal of the American Medical Association, 294, 602–612.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richmond, A. H. (2002). Globalization: Implications for immigrants and refugees. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 25(5), 707–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, C., Crepeau, F., Foxen, P., & Houle, F. (2002). The complexity of determining refugeehood: A multidisciplinary analysis of the decision-making process of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board. Journal of Refugee Studies, 15(1), 43–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shoeb, M., Weinstein, H., & Mollica, R. F. (2007). The Harvard trauma questionnaire: adapting a cross-cultural instrument for measuring torture, trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in Iraqi refugees. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 53(5), 447–463.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steel, Z., Silove, D., Brooks, R., Momartin, S., Alzuhairi, B., & Susljik, I. (2006). Impact of immigration detention and temporary protection on the mental health of refugees. British Journal of Psychiatry, 188, 58–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, B. (1981). The refugee experience: Defining the parameters of a field of study. International Migration Review, 15(1), 320–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNHCR. (2001). Statistical Yearbook. http://www.unhcr.org/static/home/statistical_yearbook/2001/toc.htm.

  • UNHCR. (2006). Helping refugees: An introduction to the UNHCR. http://www.unhcr.org/basics/BASICS/420795964.pdf.

  • White, J. (2004). Post-traumatic stress disorder: The lived experience of immigrant, refugee and visible minority women. Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence.

  • Zolberg, A. (2000). The handbook of international migration. New York: Russell Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miriam George.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

George, M. A Theoretical Understanding of Refugee Trauma. Clin Soc Work J 38, 379–387 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-009-0252-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-009-0252-y

Keywords

Navigation