Coping among Afghan former unaccompanied refugee children in the UK: A qualitative study exploring barriers and influences over time

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) are an extremely vulnerable refugee group, at heightened risk of adversity and trauma, as well as long-term, severe mental health difficulties. There is a lack of research providing a contextual understanding of difficulties and active resilience processes to inform how to promote URM wellbeing. This qualitative study explored the difficulties and coping responses of former URMs from Afghanistan and perceptions of how and from where coping strategies are developed. Reflexive Thematic Analysis of 12 interviews generated three overarching themes: “Difficulties and coping: a series of cumulative challenges and vicious cycles”; “Roots to coping”; and “Coping is dynamic: the process of change”. Participants reported multiple and compounding difficulties, often present in a triad of physical/psychosomatic pain, mental health difficulties and social challenges. Participants described resilience mechanisms and the barriers to coping strategies being used and effective, revealing how the ability to employ strategies may be limited and that strategies may contribute to further challenges. Experiences of early attachment, culture and identity could be observed to influence the ways coping strategies are appraised and developed. The importance of prioritising belonging and providing trauma and attachment-informed care is discussed.