Understanding Mental Health and Identity from Syrian Refugee Adolescents’ Perspectives

Adolescence is a critical stage of development for health, well-being, and individual identity. As a result, mental health challenges often first emerge during adolescence. Refugee adolescents are a particularly vulnerable group, as normal adolescent stress is compounded with resettlement stress. This research examined how Syrian refugee adolescents conceptualize mental health. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugee adolescents (n = 7) and service providers (n = 8) in the Greater Toronto Area. Data analysis was informed by grounded theory. The findings indicate that conceptualizations of mental health are highly dependent on how the concept is framed. However, when expressed using alternative descriptors, adolescents were able to identify factors that they believed influence mental health status, including factors at the individual, microsystem, and mesosystem level. Throughout interviews, aspects of adolescents’ identity emerged.