Structured review of identity and psychosocial wellbeing in adolescent survivors of the 2014 Yazidi genocide humanitarian disaster

In 2014, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against a community of 400,000 Yazidi in Iraq's Sinjar region. As of 2025, 200,000 Yazidis remain displaced in Northern Iraq; 3000 women and children are assumed in captivity. We propose a novel conceptual framework exploring the relationship between adolescent identity development and genocide as an identity-based humanitarian disaster. Through a qualitative review of academic and grey literature, we analyze Yazidi adolescents' lived experiences to explore identity formation, focusing on barriers and accelerators of psychosocial wellbeing post-genocide. We emphasize the importance of understanding identity dynamics across the disaster cycle (pre, peri, post) for effective psychological care and resilience-building strategies. Key conceptual findings include: (1) Collective trauma and lack of self-continuity, (2) Differences in experiences between Yazidi boys and girls, and (3) Desire to belong considering captivity and reintegration. The literature highlights the severe challenges faced during captivity—including forced roles in combat and forced impregnation—and the subsequent heightened risks of reduced cognitive complexity, suicidality, social isolation, stigmatization, physical and mental impairments, and gender-based violence upon reintegration. This study bridges critical research gaps by providing actionable insights for shaping comprehensive disaster response strategies in complex humanitarian settings, illustrating the disjunction between personal and collective identity post-genocide and outlining identity reconstruction processes. Furthermore, this study has direct implications for the accomplishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through our exploration of gendered contexts (SDG 5) and identity-based disaster contexts undermining the peace, justice, and equity afforded to Yazidi adolescents post-genocide (SDG 10 & 16).