Stories of pre‐war, war and exile

Bosnian refugee children in Sweden

Bibliographic Data

ID19503565
AuthorsStephen Goldin (Umeå University), Lilian Levin (Umeå University), Lars Ake Persson (0000-0003-0710-7954, Umeå University), Bruno Hägglöf (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Year2001
Volume17
Issue1
Pages25-47
Publication date2001-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedicine Conflict & Survival (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-3699 • E-ISSN: 1743-9396
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13623690108409553
PMID11339342
OpenAlexW2010661707
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited23

While standardized questionnaires produce counts of isolated events, a semi-structured interview derives a story, a complex narrative in time and place. Ninety Bosnian refugee children and adolescents (ages 1-20), resettled in Sweden, were assessed in a semi-structured clinical interview designed to identify and offer support to children at risk. A family-child account of traumatic exposure was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Type-stories or clusters of experience were identified for three distinct periods: prior to war, during war, and after war in exile. The extent of trauma-stress exposure during each of these periods proved unrelated. Pre-war experience presented as preponderantly good and safe. Differences in child exposure during war and exile could be understood in relation to identifiable socio-demographic factors; particularly ethnic background, social class, child age and family size. Further, the stories derived cast light on the equity of Swedish refugee reception, exposing both egalitarian and discriminatory tendencies

Art · Bosnian · Ethnic group · Literature · Narrative · Refugee · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Anthropology · Demography · Education and experiences of immigrants and refugees · Family Support in Illness · Gender Studies · History · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology

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