Post-migration stressors, health-related quality of life, and resilience among refugee adolescents

Background

Refugee adolescents may face many challenges during the early stages of resettlement and social and financial strains can negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This can interrupt psychosocial functioning and development with possible long-term consequences.

Aim

To examine whether self-reported social and financial stressors during early resettlement are associated with HRQoL among refugee adolescents in Sweden, and to examine whether resilience resources moderate these associations.

Methods

The sample consisted of 2,559 Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan refugee minors, aged 12–18 years, in Sweden, who completed questionnaires assessing HRQoL, post-migration stressors, and resilience resources. The associations were examined using multivariate and univariate regression analyses. Resilience was tested as a possible moderator via interaction analyses.

Results

Higher levels of social and financial stressors were associated with lower HRQoL for most dimensions (19/20 associations p < 0.05, mainly p < 0.001). However, resilience moderated only a few of them (4/19) and unexpectedly, higher resilience was in some cases linked to stronger negative associations between stressors and HRQoL.

Conclusions

The findings underline the importance of considering post-migration stressors in relation to HRQoL among refugee adolescents. The assumed protective role of resilience was mostly unsupported, highlighting that individual-level resources alone may not be enough to ease the impact of stressors.

Key messages

• Our findings demonstrate that social and financial stressors are associated with lower HRQoL in refugee adolescents, underscoring the importance of addressing post-migration conditions.

• Resilience showed limited and inconsistent moderation effect, highlighting that individual resources alone may not be sufficient to compensate for challenges in the host country.