Dissertation Defense: Sayed (Kalim) Abed
The College of Education has scheduled the final oral examination of Sayed (Kalim) Abed for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education. The title of the dissertation is Meaning-Making, Resilience, and Posttraumatic Growth Following Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Afghan Refugees and Immigrants: A Phenomenological Study.
Afghanistan’s four decades of war, political instability, and state collapse turned this country into one of major refugee sending states in the world (UNHCR, n.d.). Afghan’s refugees report substantial trauma and a moderate to high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression (Alemi et al., 2014). However, limited studies explored the experiences of Afghan refugees and immigrants using a comprehensive framework such Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) while also reporting their Posttraumatic growth (PTG). Ten participants completed semi-structured interviews in their preferred language, with most completing two interviews. Interviews were transcribed, translated into English when necessary, and analyzed using Groenewald’s (2004) phenomenological data explicitation approach. Five themes showed that participants experienced childhood adversity within broader conditions of war, displacement, poverty, and family hardship while carrying knowledge, skills, relationships, values, and faith that supported resilience during resettlement. Participants also described changing understandings of earlier experiences, future goals shaped by those experiences, and both continuity and change in faith. Resilience, meaning-making, positive outcomes, and PTG emerged as related but distinct processes, with stronger evidence of PTG when participants connected positive psychological change with their struggle through adversity. The findings highlight the importance of culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches that recognize both continuing adversity and the strengths and resources Afghan refugees and immigrants carry across displacement and resettlement.
