| Learning Objective #1: List two community support needs of Cuban refugees | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Describe one source of support for Cuban refugees at local and national levels |
Background: Refugees must adapt to many life changes during flight and resettlement, producing acculturative stress associated with depression. Social support can buffer stress and has been correlated with reduced depression. The failure of current assistance programs to reduce depression may be due in part to a failure to address community-level (CL) support, conceptually defined as practical and affective resources available in the refugees' local and national environment. The development of CL support interventions has been hampered by lack of descriptive data and reliable measures for refugees. Cuban refugees are a representative refugee group because they are forced to flee political persecution and experience many life changes.
Study Design: Participants included 30 Cuban-born adults, living in Texas, who arrived in the U.S. during the last five years and used Spanish as their first language. This cross-sectional, community-based study used semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Analysis included open and axial coding, making comparisons between cases, writing memos, and describing their perceptions of CL support.
Importance of findings/recommendations: The primary source of practical support was the resettlement agency, followed by Cuban individuals. Emotional or spiritual support was most often received from other Cubans, followed by English-speaking individuals. Minimal support was received from other Spanish-speaking non-Cubans, such as Mexicans. Opinions were divided about when practical and emotional support was most important. Their overall perception of the U.S. government was positive. Participants were most at risk for stress and anxiety when the resettlement agency ended the official orientation period, leaving refugees with the perception that they were on their own.