Parenting Practices in the Karen Refugee Community

Parents and children exposed to war and relocation have high rates of negative relational and mental health outcomes. The Karen are an ethnic minority from Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand, recently resettled in the United States. Karen refugee parents have been significantly strained by both war-related trauma and resettlement stress. We conducted three focus groups with Karen caregivers (N = 12, 5, and 12) to assess parenting practices in the Karen refugee community. Standardized mental health and parenting assessments completed by 11 Karen caregivers and 11 children were used to triangulate focus group data. Key themes identified related to mothers’ physical care for their children, parenting difficulties after relocation to the U.S., and practices of discipline, direction-giving, and encouragement. These findings have implications for culturally relevant clinical and research approaches to support Karen refugee parents and children.