Coping of Young Refugees in Germany

Background:

Coping is considered to have an important influence on well-being, especially in adolescent refugees dealing with a high amount of stress. In addition, gender differences in coping are a common topic for research and are often attributed to differences in socialization between boys and girls.

 

Aims:

The aim was to get an overview of the extent to which RM differ from both minors with migration (MM) as well as native (NM) background regarding well-being and resources. In addition, the study sought to identify resources of RM that are significant for well-being. General personal and social resources, religious identity and practice as well as multicultural resources (bilingualism, ethnic identity) were examined.

 

Method:

Refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan (N = 106, 55% male) aged 11–18 years completed questionnaires in schools or housing facilities. Associations between gender, GRA, coping strategies, and well-being were investigated using moderation and regression analyses.

 

Results:

Gender differences found in previous literature could, in part be replicated. Refugee girls reported more anger-related emotion regulation than boys did. However, GRA did not show any connections to coping strategies.

 

Limitations:

Most limitations result from low reliabilities and possible biases due to the use of self-reports.

 

Conclusion:

The more frequent use of anger-related emotion regulation as the only gender difference replicated in this study highlights the importance of research with refugee samples to prevent over-generalization of previous results from Western cultures.

 

Resource: DOI