ISSN : 2233-6710(Print)
ISSN : 2384-2121(Online)
ISSN : 2384-2121(Online)
Journal of Asia Pacific Counseling Vol.15 No.1 pp.95-116
DOI : https://doi.org/10.18401/2025.15.1.5
DOI : https://doi.org/10.18401/2025.15.1.5
“Be the Good Child”: Aspirations and Challenges of Karen Youth Refugees Resettling in America
Abstract
Starting a new life in the United States offers refugee families a renewed sense of hope. However, maintaining aspirations and opportunities can have emotional consequences on resettled youth as the collectivistic practices of Karen families often fall outside the norms of the host society. The mental health professionals serving Karen youth can tune into the narratives that connect youth with parents and between Karen communities overseas and in the United States to provide culturally responsive assessment and intervention. The qualitative research examined included: (a) refugee resettlement on Karen youth resettling and growing up in the United States; (b) individual and collective resources that promote coping ability and resilience; and (c) perceived meaning ascribed to their lived experience of refugee resettlement. Implications that emerged from a synthesis of the findings call for adopting a socioecological framework (Miller & Rasmussen, 2017) that integrates both cultural competence and developmentally informed practices with this unique population.