Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia
Objective The Hazara people have historically been persecuted because they are an ethnic and religious minority group in Afghanistan. While there has been research into the wellbeing of young refugees from other ethnic backgrounds, little research has focused on the wellbeing of young Hazaras. Path...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2018-06-01
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| Series: | Australian Journal of Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12171 |
| _version_ | 1797681627500904448 |
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| author | Carly Copolov Ann Knowles Denny Meyer |
| author_facet | Carly Copolov Ann Knowles Denny Meyer |
| author_sort | Carly Copolov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective The Hazara people have historically been persecuted because they are an ethnic and religious minority group in Afghanistan. While there has been research into the wellbeing of young refugees from other ethnic backgrounds, little research has focused on the wellbeing of young Hazaras. Path analysis was used to determine the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia. These included presence of immediate family in Australia, absence of trauma symptoms, acculturation, resilience, and spirituality. Method Seventy Hazaras, 50 males and 20 females, aged 16–30-years (M = 21.56, SD = 4.29) who had spent an average of 5-years and 2-months (SD = 3.40) in Australia completed an online survey which comprised demographic items and three questionnaires. Results The hypotheses were supported in that acculturation, absence of trauma symptoms, and presence of immediate family in Australia predicted personal wellbeing. Resilience and spirituality were not direct predictors of personal wellbeing, however acculturation mediated the relationship between both resilience and personal wellbeing and between spirituality and personal wellbeing. As expected, both resilience and spirituality, and resilience and absence of trauma symptoms, were positively correlated. Conclusions The model identifies possible pathways to wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia. Findings suggest the young people sampled are positively engaged with education and work in Australia and report an absence of trauma symptoms. The online survey methodology provided access to a relatively large sample in a short period of time. Implications for refugee policy, practice, and research are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:47:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-088ad1fe66d1487890c4e1ee2c76a003 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0004-9530 1742-9536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:47:36Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-088ad1fe66d1487890c4e1ee2c76a0032023-09-19T08:54:46ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAustralian Journal of Psychology0004-95301742-95362018-06-0170212213010.1111/ajpy.1217112098878Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in AustraliaCarly Copolov0Ann Knowles1Denny Meyer2Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of TechnologyDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of TechnologyStatistics Data Science and Epidemiology, Swinburne University of TechnologyObjective The Hazara people have historically been persecuted because they are an ethnic and religious minority group in Afghanistan. While there has been research into the wellbeing of young refugees from other ethnic backgrounds, little research has focused on the wellbeing of young Hazaras. Path analysis was used to determine the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia. These included presence of immediate family in Australia, absence of trauma symptoms, acculturation, resilience, and spirituality. Method Seventy Hazaras, 50 males and 20 females, aged 16–30-years (M = 21.56, SD = 4.29) who had spent an average of 5-years and 2-months (SD = 3.40) in Australia completed an online survey which comprised demographic items and three questionnaires. Results The hypotheses were supported in that acculturation, absence of trauma symptoms, and presence of immediate family in Australia predicted personal wellbeing. Resilience and spirituality were not direct predictors of personal wellbeing, however acculturation mediated the relationship between both resilience and personal wellbeing and between spirituality and personal wellbeing. As expected, both resilience and spirituality, and resilience and absence of trauma symptoms, were positively correlated. Conclusions The model identifies possible pathways to wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia. Findings suggest the young people sampled are positively engaged with education and work in Australia and report an absence of trauma symptoms. The online survey methodology provided access to a relatively large sample in a short period of time. Implications for refugee policy, practice, and research are discussed.http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12171acculturationaustraliarefugeesresiliencetraumawellbeing |
| spellingShingle | Carly Copolov Ann Knowles Denny Meyer Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia Australian Journal of Psychology acculturation australia refugees resilience trauma wellbeing |
| title | Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia |
| title_full | Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia |
| title_short | Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia |
| title_sort | exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young hazaras with refugee backgrounds in australia |
| topic | acculturation australia refugees resilience trauma wellbeing |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12171 |
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