Refugee Children: How Are They Faring Economically as Adults?

The article examines the economic well-being of former refugees who arrived in the United States as children and are now adults. On resettlement, refugee children face numerous challenges. In addition to language barriers, a variety of unique stressors are experienced. First, for children who are with their families, there are often intergenerational problems. Frequently, children adopt the customs of the new country much more quickly than their parents, resulting in a role reversal whereby the children become translators of language and cultural norms for their parents. This frequently leads to a lack of respect for elders, which is an extremely important value in many of the original cultures. Five refugee groups--Southeast Asians, Soviets/East Europeans, Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans--has been examined in this article using data from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing. The results indicates that the economic status of childhood refugee arrivals differs by refugee group. Soviets/East Europeans and Cubans are faring well economically, Southeast Asians are faring moderately well, and Nicaraguans and Haitians are faring poorly.