Date of Award

Spring 2020

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

First Advisor

Caroline Shanti, PhD, LCSW

Second Advisor

Hermeet Kohli, PhD, MSW

Third Advisor

Paul Johnson, PhD, LCSW

Abstract

The world is witnessing the highest rate of displacement in history. An estimated sixty-eight million people have been forced to leave their country of origin. Half of all displaced persons are children who carry long-term stress, trauma, and need of support as a result of forced migration.

The current study contributes to an emerging body of research on resilience-based interventions for newly-arrived children and youth. This evaluative case study uses a mixed-methods approach to capture a full picture of the Center for Grieving Children's Intercultural program and their approaches to supporting and measuring resilience. The three methods of data collection include: 1) Semi-structured interviews with staff and volunteer facilitators; 2) Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) (Jefferies, McGarrigle & Ungar, 2019); and 3) participatory observations. The triangulation of data provides a holistic assessment of the program's effectiveness and impact on participant's overall resilience.

Participatory observations were conducted throughout the programming year to document participant's involvement, programming impact, and demonstrations of resilience. Ten semi-structured interviews with staff and facilitators, as well as participatory observations, were then analyzed using thematic analysis to identify emerging qualitative themes. Lastly, a CYRM-R pre-test and post-test was administered to student participants to assess the change in participant's level of resilience over the course of the programming year.

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