Life Experiences of Constructively Adapting Adolescent War Refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees estimated a total of 11 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2011). Approximately 71, 0000 of these refugees resettled in the United States and 10,000 in Canada (UNHCR, 2011; Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2007). The UN defines a refugee as an individual in exile due to a ¿well-founded¿ fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, and/or for any other socially based identifiers (UN, 1951). This designation does not account for the 845, 000 individuals in exile who were identified as illegal immigrants and asylum seekers (UNHCR, 2011). These ¿non-refugees¿ may have escaped from their native country because of similar well-founded reasons as bona fide refugees. War is commonly noted as a devastating life changing experience. Broadening one¿s perspectives of the definition of refugees may allow for a holistic understanding of all individuals who escaped war-related circumstances. Although the literature on the mental distress of refugees/asylum seekers is flourishing, few have focused on the holistic experience of adolescent war refugees, specifically their pre, peri, & post-migration life experiences.