Refugee Children in Australia: Wellbeing and Integration

Abstract

Whether the children of immigrant populations, including refugees, integrate into the host society is a key challenge facing all countries with large immigrant populations. In Australia, this is crucial given rising numbers and anxieties over refugee settlement in recent decades. Forced migration and displacement due to violence, persecution, or natural disasters with families undertaking perilous journeys fleeing their homes often could mean a turning point and at the same time a stressful event that may have severe negative psychosocial and long-term effects. This can be particularly acute among refugee children, who are typically the least prepared to migrate, have experienced hardship associated with violence and persecution, and must grow up in a new country. From a life course perspective, the integration and wellbeing of refugee children is shaped by the timing and context of migration, including their age at migration and country of origin. In this chapter we draw on longitudinal data from Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) to offer new evidence in our understanding of the integration and wellbeing of refugee children in Australia and policy recommendations to address the social disadvantages facing this population. Our findings indicate that refugee children are outperforming their parents, making intergenerational progress. However, we find some major differences by gender and national origin across a range of outcomes.