Pathways to Resilience III: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture

Abstract #325
Addressing Methodological and Theoretical Gaps in Researching Resilience and Wellbeing: a Capability Approach towards the Wellbeing of South Sudanese Refugee Youth in Uganda
Presenter: Julie Schiltz
Abstract:
Research on the wellbeing of young refugees is increasingly shifting towards a resilience perspective. Yet, a lack of empirical evidence on trajectories of wellbeing and resilience of young refugees hampers the design of tailored interventions and sustainable support. This poster presentation outlines the design of an ongoing PhD study on the wellbeing and resilience of South Sudanese refugee youth in northern Uganda. The study adopts a Capability Approach to address methodological aspects, theoretical underpinnings and contextual embeddedness of current empirical studies on the wellbeing of refugee youth. The Capability Approach is a normative framework to evaluate and assess wellbeing and social arrangements, with an explicit focus on the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society. More specifically, the study explores ‘capabilities’ or freedoms that refugee youth deem valuable in their lives, and the opportunities and barriers they experience in the pursuit of their wellbeing. The study adopts an ecological, multifaceted and strengths-based perspective to study wellbeing and resilience of refugee youth, and thereby seeks for an alternative to common individualizing and western-based approaches in refugee literature that focuses excessively on trauma and victimhood. The longitudinal mixed method research design including community based research approaches aims to make this study more contextually valid, empowering and relevant for all stakeholders involved.