The Impact of War Experiences on Mental Health of African Refugees in Australia - Research Proposal Example

THE IMPACT OF WAR EXPERIENCES ON MENTAL HEALTH OF AFRICAN REFUGEES IN AUSTRALIA by Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor University City/State Date The impact of war experiences on Mental Health of African Refugees in Australia Introduction Since 1990, Australia has accepted more than 130, 000 refugees, and recent studies show that the number of refugees in Australia is still increasing since more from African nations are still being accepted in the country. Various researches and specifically one commissioned by the Australian Department of Immigration, Multicultural, and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) indicate that humanitarian refugees experience higher levels of mental stress and social challenges than any other migrant groups. Research by Steel, Silove, Phan, et al., (2002, p.1057) report that there is greater emotional anguish among refuges of war, who experience high levels of post-traumatic stress, apprehension and hopelessness leading to other mental health issues such as psychosomatic disorders. Research by Miller and Rasco (2004, p.33) point out that mental welfare of refugees appears to be controlled not just by pre-migration traumas and post-migration changes but also by the bio-psychosocial environment within which the refugees live. This research paper therefore aims at exploring the impact of pre-migration trauma, post-migration living challenges, and social support on the existing mental health of resettled African refugees in Australia. About eight research papers on pre-migrations trauma, anxiety, and overall impact of war experiences on mental health of African refugees in Australia will be reviewed. The results from the extensive literature review are expected to confirm the research paper thesis that refugees in Australia constitute a susceptible group in terms of mental health due to impacts of pre-migration trauma, depression, anxiety, and violence experiences. Methodology A total of 23 journal articles and research papers on impact of violence and war experiences on mental health of refugees will be selected. The articles and research papers will be accessed from the school library and credible internet sites. The articles and papers will then be reviewed and 8 of them will be selected for a detailed literature review. The method for selecting the 8 articles will be based on the methodologies used by the researchers, the participants involved and the literature review carried out. From the articles, information on the background of the research, pre-migration events, post-migration experiences and existing psychosocial environment and their impacts on the mental health of refugees in Australia will be gathered. The paper will then consolidate the results from the 8 papers to come up with the final conclusion which is aimed at ascertaining the researcher paper’s hypothesis that African refugees in Australia are a vulnerable group characterized by high stress levels, anxiety and depression due to pre-migration trauma experiences such as violence and mistreatment and post resettlement challenges such as isolation and lack of employment. Literature Review Research by Miller and Rasco (2004, p.42), review that prior to migration, refugees are often exposed to various human right violations such as torture, rape, violence, to name but a few. Unlike single-event traumas, the traumatic experiences of refugees are interconnected and cumulative (McLennan 1997, p.67). These bad experiences usually influence negatively on the refugees’ sense of empowerment, identity and meaning in life. The impact is greater when refugees land in their destination countries and lack the moral and social support that they need during such hard times. The relationship between trauma, war experiences and mental health of refugees are directly correlated. Kemp (2006, p. 57) argues that many refugees seek comfort and shelter from other nations in order to run away from bad war experiences and such as violence in their nations. However, not many refugees receive enough moral, financial and social support. The refugees many times are settled in refugee camps where they feel separated from the rest in the society and may fail to receive adequate psychological counseling leading to more stress, anxiety and depression which further destroys their mental well being (Kelaher & Manderson 2000, p.5). According to research conducted by Jupp (2003, p.159), war and violence trauma interrupt five systems including, personal safety, interpersonal attachments, sense of justice, identity or role and existential meaning and that trauma can manifest in various mental illnesses and disorders. According to Mollica, Cui and Massagli (2002, p.165) trauma experienced from war and violence impact on mental health of a person by either increasing the vulnerability to directly increasing the anxiety, depression and stressors of life. However, the three researchers argue that psychosocial factors such as social support, language proficiency, education and employment can protect individuals from such stressors of life. Such a fact reveals that many refugees who suffer from trauma, depression and other mental disorder lack psychosocial factors such as social support, employment and education. A person’s self perception and sense of meaning in life, surfaces from relations and identification with family and cultural systems (Steel, Silove & Phan et al. 2002, p.27). The bad experiences from war and violence, which refugees undergo, interrupt family and cultural systems and separate the refugees from their families and ethnic community. This is particularly true with African context where there is large cultural difference with the conventional Australian culture that can test the sense of identity and belonging. Research by Miller and Rasco (2004, p.53), shows that many African refugees lose the meaning of life once they lose their loved ones and get separated from the families and communities which they value so much. Trauma, anxiety and depression that refugees undergo in exile alter the way of thinking not only of the past but also the present and future. This explains the reason as to why many refugees never get mentally stable even after being settled since they continue experiencing these stressors of life each day of their lives (Steel, Silove & Phan et al. 2002, p.69). Research by Kemp (2006, p.63) confirms that inability by refugees to regain their sense of identity and meaning in life leads to feelings of aimlessness, hopelessness, powerlessness to name but a few. Such feelings lead to poor social functioning and include symptoms of apathy, low energy, social withdrawal and great damage to metal health (Miller & Rasco 2004, p.55). Mollica, Cui and Massagli (2002, p.163) argue that the mental health of refugees require identification of pre-migration trauma and other post-migration stressors in order to come with effective psychosocial factors that will help in neutralizing these stressors of life hence ensure mental wellbeing of the refugees. Discussion From the various 8 articles and papers reviewed, there is enough evidence that refugee from African nations living in Australia experience pre-migration trauma and post-migration stressors which greatly impact on their mental health. The research carried by Steel, Silove and Phan et al. (2002, p.71) many of refugees in Australia have already separated from their families, have experienced violence, witnessed their loved ones being tortured and killed in wars and many are the days they go without basic needs. The three researchers argue that loss of important loved ones in the migration process and social isolation in exile are some of the factors that greatly influence the mental wellbeing of refugees. The literature review gave clear evidence that traumatic experiences such as rape or sexual abuse, kidnapping, isolation from others, torture and loss of loved ones are common experiences which refugee especially from African nations undergo during war and violence. According to McLennan (1997, p.77), the traumatic experiences are highly challenging as they are often associated with increased susceptibility to psychological stress resulting into poor mental health. The greatest challenge is that after experiencing traumatic experiences, many refugees moving into Australia may fail to get enough comfort and instead continue experiencing stressing conditions such as isolation; lack of employment and this further deteriorates the mental health of these vulnerable groups (Kelaher & Manderson 2000, p.4). Once resettled in new countries, refugees struggle so much to overcome the psychological impacts of personal safety threats, social and cultural disturbances. Research by Kemp indicate that among all refugee groups in Australia, refugees from Africa nations are highly vulnerable to traumatic experiences and stressing conditions which greatly affect their mental wellbeing (2006, p.79). The main challenge facing African refugees in Australia is lack of support and lack of other psychosocial factors, which help them in forgetting and healing their tortured and traumatized states of mind. The literature review also revealed that little has been done in not only Australia but also many European countries to assist refuges in adjusting well in their new environments and overcome their past traumatic experiences. The literature review indicates a great need for humanitarian organizations in Australia and other nations with war refugees to implement effective strategies to assist these vulnerable groups in overcoming their past traumatic experiences. According to Mollica, Cui and Massagli (2002, p.165), if policies are drafted and implemented governing the resettlement and general treatment of refugees in Australia, then their affected mental health would be significantly improved. The study by Miller and Rasco, (2004, p.93) argue that psychosocial factors such as social and moral support, counseling and employment play a significant part in restoring the mental wellbeing of war refugees. The fact that war refugees continue to experience challenges while settling in their new refuge countries further impact on their mental wellbeing is enough to challenge nations to ensure their refugees receive the moral, financial, social support and other conditions, which improve their destroyed psychological wellbeing (Mollica, Cui & Massagli 2002, p.166). Conclusion From the literature review conducted, there is enough evidence that proves the paper’s thesis that refugees from war and violence affected African nations face various traumatic experiences which greatly affect their mental wellbeing. Torture, loss of loved ones, rape, lack of basic needs, and other human rights violations, which war refugees experience greatly affect their mental wellbeing. It is a pity that even after resettling in new refuge nations, war refugees continue facing various challenges such as isolation and lack of employment, which further impact on their already tortured minds. Isolation from family members, disruptions in social and cultural system are the greatest factors, which adversely affect the mental wellbeing of African war refugees in Australia. It is therefore the responsibility of humanitarian organizations not only in Australia but every country to draft and implement strategies which see to it that refugees receive the care and support they need in overcoming their past traumatic experiences in order to safeguard their mental health. Reference List Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 2004, A last resort: National inquiry into children in immigration detention, Author, Sydney, NSW: Jupp, J 2003, ‘Refugees and asylum seekers as victims: The Australian case’, International Review of Victimology, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 157-175. Kelaher, M & Manderson, L 2000, ‘Migration and mainstreaming: matching health services to immigrants’ needs in Australia’, Health Policy, vol. 54, no.1, pp. 1-11. Kemp, C 2006, Refugee and immigrant health: Current issues, Paper presented at the Annual Arizona Refugee Resettlement Conference. McLennan, W 1997, Mental health and wellbeing: Profile of adults, Australia (electronic version). Viewed 20 October Miller, K E & Rasco, LM (Eds.) 2004, The mental health of refugees: Ecological approaches to healing and adaptation, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahwah, New Jersey. Mollica, RF, Cui, X & Massagli, MP 2002, ‘Science-based policy for psychosocial interventions in refugee camps’, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease vol. 190, pp. 158-166. Steel, Z, Silove, D, Phan, T, & Bauman, A 2002, ‘Long term effect of psychological trauma on the mental health of Vietnamese refugees resettled in Australia: a population based study’, The Lancet, vol. 360, pp. 1056-1062. Read More