Forced displacement

Forced displacement results from complex and intersecting risks, such as armed conflict, climate crises, and economic downturns. Globally, most of those who are forced to flee their homes are children. The stressors of forced displacement—which include adversities before, during, and after the migration process—impact adolescents both directly and indirectly, through disturbance in the physical and social environments around them. Importantly, though, most adolescents exposed to forced displacement go on to do fairly well in life and function in their communities. There are many steps that adults in resettlement societies can take to support this positive development for forcibly displaced youth and their families. These include identifying and reducing the risks they face before, during, and after resettlement; promoting helpful resources in their environments; and fueling powerful adaptive systems that can support positive development for years into the future. These resources are likely to be maximally acceptable and effective when they are carefully tailored to families’ developmental, cultural, and contextual needs. Forced displacement occurs when a person has to leave their home due to threats to their survival. These may include armed conflict, natural disaster, climate degradation, lack of economic opportunities, famine, or identity-based oppression, to name a few. Individuals exposed to forced displacement may stay within their country of origin or cross natural borders to seek safety, where they are sometimes (but not always) granted status as refugees.