A joint project of:

Lutheran
Immigration and Refugee Service
(LIRS)
www.lirs.org

and


United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops/
Migration and
Refugee Services
(USCCB/MRS)
www.usccb.org/mrs

BRYCS
888.572.6500
info@brycs.org

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Understanding, Preventing, and Treating Problem Behaviors Among Refugee and Immigrant Youth

a report by the
Center for
Multicultural
Human Services

"During the 1980s and 1990s, rates of violence and other problem behaviors skyrocketed among our nation’s youth, tragically affecting millions of young people, their families, communities, and this country as a whole. In response, a substantial amount of research was initiated concerning these problems among mainstream youth (primarily Anglo and African American), and our understanding of risk and protective factors for them has grown considerably. However, one in five American children today is either an immigrant or the child of an immigrant, and current demographic trends leave no doubt that the cultural diversity of this country—especially among its youth—will continue to grow. Due to background and cultural characteristics unique to refugees and immigrants, risk and protective factors are different for them. Despite this fact, the country has been slow to integrate immigrant variables into national data systems, research agendas, and programming. Knowing more about children of immigrants is essential to developing effective interventions for a group that now comprises one-fifth of all American youth. In addition, some research indicates that patterns of integration among the first and second immigrant generations may affect the success of future generations, so that timely and effective interventions may have multiple effects. Finally, examining groups that differ in key areas from mainstream youth can deepen our understanding of the complex interactions among individual, family, and community factors for all children.

This report provides a review of available research concerning adjustment and problem behaviors, including violence, among refugee and immigrant youth in the United States."

The table of contents and narrative portion of this important resource, Understanding, Preventing, and Treating Problem Behaviors Among Refugee and Immigrant Youth, is available for viewing here on the BRYCS site.  This publication is available on the BRYCS Publications page, along with other resources developed by BRYCS, LIRS, USCCB/MRS and others.