Psychosocial Wellness
Methodological Approaches To The Study Of Refugees

Frederick L. Ahearn, Jr.

There has been considerable interest in the plight of refugees, especially how they cope with the effects of forced migration. Researchers have been keen to answer the question, "How does an ordinary person experience an extraordinary event?" This increased interest in mental health concerns of displaced persons is evidenced by the large number of publications in professional journals about emotional and physical behavior within their home countries, in flight, in camps, and in countries where they resettle. With this increased interest has come the question about how best to measure the psychological and somatic consequences of displacement, and what the research findings of refugees' psychosocial well-being actually mean.