ABSTRACT
Objective
This study examined how 1.5-generation (1.5G) East African refugees navigate intergenerational trauma, resilience, and communication within refugee family systems.
Background
Refugee families often experience intergenerational trauma shaped by migration and displacement. Positioned between first-generation parents and younger generations, 1.5G refugees occupy a unique role in family communication, meaning-making, and adaptation.
Method
This qualitative study utilized four focus groups with 16 Somali, Oromo, and Ethiopian 1.5G East African refugees. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results
Four themes emerged: Carrying the Weight of Survival, Shared Loss and Unspoken Trauma, Connecting Shared Generational Experiences, and Toward Healing and Transformation. Participants described inherited expectations of strength, emotional silence surrounding trauma, and the responsibility of navigating cultural and generational divides. They also emphasized collective healing, emotional openness, and community-based approaches to resilience.
Conclusion
Intergenerational trauma was negotiated through ongoing relational processes rather than experienced solely at the individual level. Participants functioned as relational bridges who translated experiences, expectations, and understandings of trauma across generations while carrying inherited narratives of survival.
Implications
Findings support culturally responsive, family-centered approaches that promote intergenerational dialog, collective healing, and relational repair within refugee communities.