Post-migration stressors, health-related quality of life, and resilience among refugee adolescents
Abstract
Background: Refugee adolescents may face many challenges during the early stages of resettlement and social and financial strains can negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This can interrupt psychosocial functioning and development with possible long-term consequences.
Aim: To examine whether self-reported social and financial stressors during early resettlement are associated with HRQoL among refugee adolescents in Sweden, and to examine whether resilience resources moderate these associations.
Methods: The sample consisted of 2,559 Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan refugee minors, aged 12–18 years, in Sweden, who completed questionnaires assessing HRQoL, post-migration stressors, and resilience resources. The associations were examined using multivariate and univariate regression analyses. Resilience was tested as a possible moderator via interaction analyses.
Results: Higher levels of social and financial stressors were associated with lower HRQoL for most dimensions (19/20 associations p < 0.05, mainly p < 0.001). However, resilience moderated only a few of them (4/19) and unexpectedly, higher resilience was in some cases linked to stronger negative associations between stressors and HRQoL.
Conclusions: The findings underline the importance of considering post-migration stressors in relation to HRQoL among refugee adolescents. The assumed protective role of resilience was mostly unsupported, highlighting that individual-level resources alone may not be enough to ease the impact of stressors.
Key messages: • Our findings demonstrate that social and financial stressors are associated with lower HRQoL in refugee adolescents, underscoring the importance of addressing post-migration conditions.
• Resilience showed limited and inconsistent moderation effect, highlighting that individual resources alone may not be sufficient to compensate for challenges in the host country.
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BibTeX
@article{larsson2026postmigration,
title = {{Post-migration stressors, health-related quality of life, and resilience among refugee adolescents}},
author = {SKM Larsson and A Nissen and M Vaez and E Mittendorfer-Rutz and M Sengoelge and F Saboonchi},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1742},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1742},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Post-migration stressors, health-related quality of life, and resilience among refugee adolescents
AU - SKM Larsson
AU - A Nissen
AU - M Vaez
AU - E Mittendorfer-Rutz
AU - M Sengoelge
AU - F Saboonchi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1742
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1742
AB - Background: Refugee adolescents may face many challenges during the early stages of resettlement and social and financial strains can negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This can interrupt psychosocial functioning and development with possible long-term consequences. Aim: To examine whether self-reported social and financial stressors during early resettlement are associated with HRQoL among refugee adolescents in Sweden, and to examine whether resilience resources moderate these associations. Methods: The sample consisted of 2,559 Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan refugee minors, aged 12–18 years, in Sweden, who completed questionnaires assessing HRQoL, post-migration stressors, and resilience resources. The associations were examined using multivariate and univariate regression analyses. Resilience was tested as a possible moderator via interaction analyses. Results: Higher levels of social and financial stressors were associated with lower HRQoL for most dimensions (19/20 associations p < 0.05, mainly p < 0.001). However, resilience moderated only a few of them (4/19) and unexpectedly, higher resilience was in some cases linked to stronger negative associations between stressors and HRQoL. Conclusions: The findings underline the importance of considering post-migration stressors in relation to HRQoL among refugee adolescents. The assumed protective role of resilience was mostly unsupported, highlighting that individual-level resources alone may not be enough to ease the impact of stressors. Key messages: • Our findings demonstrate that social and financial stressors are associated with lower HRQoL in refugee adolescents, underscoring the importance of addressing post-migration conditions. • Resilience showed limited and inconsistent moderation effect, highlighting that individual resources alone may not be sufficient to compensate for challenges in the host country.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -