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Displacement and Emotional Well-Being among Married and Unmarried Syrian Adolescent Girls in Lebanon: An Analysis of Narratives

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Listed:
  • Sophie Roupetz

    (Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany)

  • Susan A. Bartels

    (Department of Emergency Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 4V7, Canada
    Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada)

  • Saja Michael

    (ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality, Beirut, Lebanon)

  • Negin Najjarnejad

    (ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality, Beirut, Lebanon
    Department of Social Sciences, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

  • Kimberley Anderson

    (Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany)

  • Colleen Davison

    (Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
    Department of Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada)

Abstract

Lebanon hosts over one million refugees displaced from Syria as a result of the armed conflict—of whom, approximately 15% are adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years of age. Many female adolescent migrants report a decrease in quality of life and an increase in family tensions. This study sought to investigate the emotional well-being of adolescent Syrian girls in Lebanon. We hypothesized that married girls may experience additional hardships and thus greater feelings of dissatisfaction in daily life, given their young marriage and responsibilities at home. This study was part of a large mixed-methods study on the experiences of Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon ( n = 1422). Using line-by-line coding and thematic analysis, 188 first-person narratives from Syrian girls were analysed. Our results highlight poor emotional well-being among married and unmarried girls, with sadness, fear and anger commonly mentioned. Some participants expressed feelings of hope, happiness, gratefulness and empowerment. Unmarried girls ( n = 111) were more likely to associate their shared stories with negative feelings such as sadness (47% vs. 22%), disappointment (30% vs. 19%), and frustration (32% vs. 22%) than were married girls ( n = 77). Four themes emerged as important determinants: access to education, perceived safety, peer support, and longing for life back in Syria. Continued efforts to improve emotional well-being for married and unmarried refugee girls are needed in Lebanon, in particular those that address the nuances for these groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Sophie Roupetz & Susan A. Bartels & Saja Michael & Negin Najjarnejad & Kimberley Anderson & Colleen Davison, 2020. "Displacement and Emotional Well-Being among Married and Unmarried Syrian Adolescent Girls in Lebanon: An Analysis of Narratives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-22, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:12:p:4543-:d:375661
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Aysit Tansel & Elif Oznur Acar, 2016. "The Formal/Informal Employment Earnings Gap: Evidence from Turkey," Research on Economic Inequality,in: Inequality after the 20th Century: Papers from the Sixth ECINEQ Meeting, volume 24, pages 121-154 Emerald Publishing Ltd.
    5. Martin, Joanne, 2002. "Feminist Theory and Critical Theory: Unexplored Synergies," Research Papers 1758, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
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    Cited by:

    1. Azaad Kassam & Olivia Magwood & Kevin Pottie, 2020. "Fostering Refugee and Other Migrant Resilience through Empowerment, Pluralism, and Collaboration in Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-3, December.
    2. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad & Isabel Pastoor, 2024. "How Do Gender Norms Shape Education and Domestic Work Outcomes? The Case of Syrian Refugee Adolescents in Jordan," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(12), pages 1964-1993, December.

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