ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2020
"We are all under the same roof": Coping and meaning-making among older Bhutanese with a refugee life experience.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk factors for poor bereavement outcomes and the support needs of adult bereaved refugees within the psychosocial-cultural concept of personhood: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Multisystemic Resilience and Psychosocial Wellbeing among Older Refugees: A Systematic Review with Implications for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2023Pooled it
- Investigating Outcomes of a Family Strengthening Intervention for Resettled Somali Bantu and Bhutanese Refugees: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- 'Today, I'll manage, but not all days!' Adult refugees' meaning-making of learning and coping with trauma and other emotional distress while in language training programmes.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Belonging as a part of the pathway to working life: immigrant women's experiences in Sweden.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Extending the ecological model of distress to social functioning among refugees and asylum-seekers.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2026Article
- Using a Community-Based Participatory Research Approach to Study the Mental Health of Older Adults with a Refugee Life Experience.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Coping with depression: a narrative study of an online depression community in China.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2023Article
- Transcending the self to transcend suffering.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Mental health among older Bhutanese with a refugee life experience: A mixed-methods latent class analysis study.The American journal of orthopsychiatry · 2023Article
- Psychological distress among Afghan refugees in Norway as a function of their integration.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Past trauma, resettlement stress, and mental health of older Bhutanese with a refugee life experience.Aging & mental health · 2022Article
- 'The War Made Me a Better Person': Syrian Refugees' Meaning-Making Trajectories in the Aftermath of Collective Trauma.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Recognizing and Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Violence Among Resettled Refugees.Current trauma reports · 2021Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveRefugees have elevated risk of psychological distress and mental health disorders compared to the general population. The majority of research has been conducted with youth and younger adults, and little is known about the mental health of older refugees. We apply the theoretical framework of meaning making to understand how older Bhutanese with a refugee life experience cope with migratory traumas and grief.
methodWe conduct semi-structured individual interviews with 41 ethnic-Nepali Bhutanese aged 50 and over with a refugee life experience resettled in the United States and analyze data using thematic content analysis.
resultsForced expulsion from Bhutan was viewed as a violation of core ethnic-Nepali beliefs and sense of purpose related to collective identity. Throughout their 30-year refugee life trajectory, participants utilized coping strategies, including interpersonal support, reappraisal of experiences of trauma and loss, and helping oneself by helping others, that were informed by, and strengthened, this collective identity. These strategies served to both reaffirm worldviews and make new, positive meaning out of a refugee life experience. Individuals who were unable to leverage these strategies struggled to find meaning.
conclusionsWe discuss study implications for psychosocial services for older refugees and contribution to theory on meaning making among diverse, vulnerable populations who experience multiple traumas and loss.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.