The mental health and resilience among Syrian refugees who are living in the UK. (A qualitative study).
The conflict and war in Syrian have been ongoing for eleven years, and many people have left their country and had to adjust in their resettlement countries with their new destinations. These people, without any doubt, are making serious journeys by either land or sea to protect their lives (O'Sullivan & Stevens, 2017). There was a need to acknowledge their experiences and the way they have faced and managed their difficult situations. This thesis aimed to gain an understanding of the narratives of Syrian refugees who are living in Leicester in the UK. Their narratives of their experiences and the terrible traumas that they witnessed before they arrived in the UK are considered, besides the difficulties that they experienced in the UK. Despite all of their difficulties and challenges, they seem to be strong in facing these difficulties. Since resilience is shaped by social, cultural, and ecological factors, then the meaning of resilience differs between, and even within countries, and is best understood contextually (Ungar, 2008). In this thesis, twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from the participants (Syrian refugees) by using the Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM), which enabled an in-depth investigation of the concept of resilience among Syrian refugees. Then, an inductive thematic analysis approach was used to explore and understand the accounts of the participants’ experiences within their three contexts (Syria, neighbouring countries and the UK). The social ecological perspective of resilience was adopted to comprehend the Syrian refugees’ experiences. This approach emphasised that the Syrian people’s resilience is rooted in their culture, family support and religion. These factors of resilience are associated with more positive mental health outcomes for Syrian refugees. These findings may highlight recommendations for other researchers, specialists and even policy makers to improve and enhance factors of resilience among Syrian refugees. By doing that, this would help Syrian people to engage more and be productive people in their resettlement country (the UK). Finally, I reflect my thoughts and feelings throughout this research to recognise my experiences and biases that could have affected this research.
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