Good starts for recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds: promoting wellbeing in the first three years of settlement in Melbourne, Australia"

This report describes the key findings of a longitudinal study (2004-2008) investigating the experiences of settlement among a group of 120 recently arrived young people with refugee backgrounds settling in Melbourne. The study investigated the experiences of these young people in their early settlement years, how they negotiated the transition from childhood to adulthood given the traumas of their past and the challenges of their present. It identified the key social determinants of wellbeing and good settlement and the social policies and services that will most effectively support them to make successful lives. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the psychosocial factors that promote successful transitions during the settlement process and describe in depth the contexts, settings and social processes that promote health and wellbeing among young refugees over time. On the whole, the group displays resilience, values education, and family and community support, but has experienced discrimination and, in many cases, continuing conflict and violence.