Career Guidance Education: Helping Resettled Refugees Plan Their Future

This study looks at the vulnerable population of refugees, specifically refugee youth. Specific attention is paid to mental health issues, notions of belonging, adapting, and acculturation, and the potential role that career guidance education can play in positively impacting the mental health and long-term resettlement success of refugee youth. Results from a search of published literature and interviews with local resettlement organizations in Pittsburgh, PA are summarized. The findings show that the experiences of traumatic events in their country of origin and that life conditions in countries of resettlement, significantly impact the mental health and development of refugee health. Mental health conditions noted in refugee populations include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Evident in the literature is the hope that the role of education holds for refugee youth and the positive gains that a sense of school belonging has on their depression levels. Career guidance education curricula for general student populations in the United States, has multiple social, educational, and economic benefits. This study suggests that career guidance education curricula targeted to resettled refugee youth, could increase their sense of self-agency, self-efficacy, and empowerment thereby increasing feelings of overall well being and leading to long-term resettlement success. The issue of the status of refugee youths' mental health and the potential role that career guidance education can have in helping them understand, think about, and plan for their future is extremely salient to the field of public health. However, it is unknown whether or not career guidance education curricula would be relevant to refugee youth due to differing cultural models dictating career choice and expectations. Recommendations for future research and program development addressing the health and well-being of refugee youth in the Pittsburgh area are provided