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Help us research the impact of war trauma on the children of refugees

This study aims to explore the lived experiences of adult children parented by a parent who was a refugee and has experienced war trauma.

About this research study

This study aims to explore the lived experiences of adult children who were parented by a parent who was a refugee and has experienced war trauma.

Some people are impacted by the traumas that their parents have experienced, without being directly exposed to those traumas themselves.

This study aims to hear about the experience of people who have been parented by parents that have survived a war trauma in their country of origin and then sought refuge in a different country.

We are particularly interested in how trauma and the subsequent refugee experiences might have impacted the parents in their role as caregivers, and how their parenting was experienced by their children.

What you'll do

You will be asked to attend an online interview with us, during which you’ll discuss your experiences of being parented by a person who was a refugee and has experienced war trauma.

You will not need to describe your parent’s experiences of trauma, or being a refugee; we are primarily interested in your experiences of being their child and being parented by them.

The interview will last about 60 to 90 minutes. This will be booked for a time that suits you.

We will conduct the interview from a private space to protect your confidentiality. We also ask you to ensure that you have access to a private and confidential space where you feel safe and comfortable to talk during our interview. It will be possible to have a break during the interview if needed.

The interview will be recorded so that we can analyse it. Analysing the interviews from all participants will help us to answer our research question.

Happy young mixed race couple spending time with their daughter having fun.

Take part in this research

We are recruiting participants for this research until 1 November 2023.

Eligibility

To take part in this study, you must have been parented by at least one parent who experienced war trauma and was also a refugee. The war trauma your parent has experienced can not be from an ongoing armed conflict and must have happened since the year 1945.

You must also:

  • be at least 18 years old
  • be able to speak fluent English, Slovenian or Serbo-Croatian
  • have not directly experienced the war trauma your parent has experienced
  • be willing to discuss your experiences of being parented via a video call

Your data and privacy

Your personal information and the audio recording of the interview will be stored securely within an encrypted and password-protected folder that can be accessed only by the research team.

The audio recording will be deleted after the interview has been transcribed. At this point, any potentially identifying details, including your name, will be removed.

After completing this study, the information you provided during the interview will be kept safely and anonymously by the University of Bath.

Ethics approval

This study has been reviewed and given a favourable ethical opinion from the Psychology Research Ethics Committee at the University of Bath (Ethics code: 23 029).

If you have any concerns related to your participation in this study please direct them to the Chair of the Department of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, email: psychology-ethics@bath.ac.uk

What will happen to the results of this research

A report will be written using quotes and ideas from you and others that have participated in the study.

We will not use any quotes from interviews that could make any individual identifiable. The research report might be used in presentations or published in scientific journals in the future to share the findings with other people.

Take part in this research study

If you want to take part in this study, or have any questions about this research, please contact us.