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The Association Of Psychological Distress And Mental Health With English Language Acquisition Of Recently Resettled Refugees In The United States, Charlisa C. Christian
The Association Of Psychological Distress And Mental Health With English Language Acquisition Of Recently Resettled Refugees In The United States, Charlisa C. Christian
Sociology ETDs
Host country language proficiency among resettled refugees has been associated with better mental health; yet, in qualitative studies, refugees describe psychological distress acting as a barrier to their learning. To clarify varying results, this longitudinal study of refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan (n=290) examined language acquisition with positive mental health and psychological distress as distinct concepts on correlated unipolar dimensions (Keyes 2002; Rumbaut 1989). With multilevel modeling, initial English speaking ability was significantly related to increasing positive mental health over time, indicating host country language proficiency acts as a protective factor for refugees, and supporting the growing …