‘Let it stay in the heart’: cultural and gendered experiences of distress among Syrian refugees in Jordan

ObjectiveThis study explored cultural and gendered experiences of distress among Syrian refugees in Jordan to inform mental health and psychosocial support services with the population. We sought to understand perceived causes of distress, salient expressions used to describe distress, and ways of c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jessica E. Lambert, Hala Abutaleb, Rahaf Odeh, Joop de Jong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1456201/full
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Summary:ObjectiveThis study explored cultural and gendered experiences of distress among Syrian refugees in Jordan to inform mental health and psychosocial support services with the population. We sought to understand perceived causes of distress, salient expressions used to describe distress, and ways of coping.MethodsEight focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with adult Syrian refugees (four male, four female). Gender-matched Jordanian qualitative researchers facilitated the FGDs. Transcripts were analyzed in Arabic using thematic analysis and validated through a final review of translated data.ResultsFour key themes were identified related to participants’ experience of distress, perceived causes and consequences, and gender differences (and similarities) in expression and coping. Results also highlighted the complexity of terminology used, and challenges in rank ordering expressions as most salient.ConclusionResults hold implications for adapting mental health and psychosocial interventions with the population to be more gender sensitive and culturally relevant.
ISSN:1664-1078