Family Against the Odds: The Psychological Impact of Family Separation on Refugee Men Living in the United Kingdom
by
, , , and
Dafni Katsampa
1,2,*
Christina Curry
3,
Ella Weldon
3
Haben Ghezai
4,
Patrick Nyikavaranda
5
Vasiliki Stamatopoulou
6
David Chapman
2 1
School of Life Sciences and Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
2
Cambridgeshire Partnership Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB1 3DF, UK
3
Helen Bamber Foundation, London N1 7JH, UK
4
Freedom from Torture, London N7 7JW, UK
5
Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Brighton, Brighton BN1 9PX, UK
6
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust, Dagenham RM13 8GQ, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(3), 159; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030159 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 18 November 2024
/
Revised: 21 February 2025
/
Accepted: 3 March 2025
/
Published: 5 March 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policies)
Abstract
:Refugees face post-migration stressors during resettlement in host countries, including forced separation from loved ones. This qualitative study aimed to examine the impact of family separation on refugee men living in the United Kingdom. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analysed following the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework. Participants described the emotional burden of family separation, alongside a perceived responsibility to support their families practically, emotionally, and financially. Men shared experiences of powerlessness, discrimination, and acculturation in the UK, and associated their experiences with time and context. Participants’ stories were embedded in their intersectional identities of masculinity, race, sexuality, religion, and migration status. Policymakers should consider the unique challenges male refugees separated from their families face in the UK in order to implement positive changes in the asylum system. Clinicians working with refugees and asylum-seekers should inform their assessment, formulation, and intervention approaches.
1. Introduction
Family separation remains a key consequence of restrictive immigration policies worldwide (Wilmsen 2011), shaping the lives of refugees in complex ways. Host countries have made efforts to establish safe routes for refugee families through resettlement or sponsorship schemes and a permanent humanitarian admission framework (European Commission: Migration and Home Affairs 2024; UK Government 2022; UNHCR 2025). However, the restricted eligibility criteria of these pathways (i.e., time periods and demographic requirements) may have contributed to an increased number of arrivals through unsafe crossings and prolonged family separations (Refugee Council 2024). The negative psychological and social consequences of family separation have been previously documented across disciplines, including sociology, psychology, law, and migration studies (Hampton et al. 2021; UNHCR 2018). Forced migration research has long emphasised the enduring impact of family separation (Tiilikainen et al. 2023a, 2023b). For example, epidemiological studies have highlighted higher rates of mental health difficulties, persistent post-traumatic stress, and increased risk of psychiatric disorders among separated refugees (Fogden et al. 2020; Hvidtfeldt et al. 2022; Liddell et al. 2021). The little qualitative research that is available on the experience of family separation suggests worries about loved ones left behind and an enduring sense of uncertainty and powerlessness (Beaton et al. 2018; Liddell et al. 2022; Miller et al. 2018).
Although much of the literature has focused on translational families within labour migration, researchers have recently underscored the distinct challenges faced by forced migrants, for whom family separation is often prolonged due to hostile immigration policies and financial barriers (Hiitola et al. 2023). Research has also demonstrated that family separation not only affects individual refugees but also extends to families left behind, with emotional and economic insecurities shaping their experiences (Nickerson et al. 2011). This highlights the need to frame family separation within the broader discussion of transnational migration and everyday insecurities (Akhigbe and Effevottu 2023).
Gender identity and masculinity significantly shape the experience of forced migration (Hack-Polay et al. 2021; Tessitore and Margherita 2022). Research has shown that male asylum-seekers are often subject to negative stereotyping and marginalisation, with media portrayals frequently depicting them as dangerous, criminal, terrorists, and/or violent (Charsley and Wray 2015). Furthermore, the gendered nature of migration policies means that men, particularly single, young or unaccompanied individuals, often face additional barriers, exacerbating feelings of guilt, responsibility, and distress. Masculinity, as shaped by cultural norms, further complicates how male refugees navigate separation. Many express a deep sense of obligation to provide financial support to their families abroad, often prioritising remittances over their own well-being, which can lead to economic hardship during resettlement (Lokot 2023). Moreover, the emotional burden of separation can be particularly acute for fathers, whose perceived ‘inability’ to care for their family may intensify feelings of inadequacy (Bergnehr 2022; Forget et al. 2019).
1.1. Terminology and Definitions
This section will define key concepts that will be discussed throughout the paper in order to facilitate readers’ coherent understanding. Here, we consider a ‘refugee’ as someone unable to return home due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion, as defined by the 1951 Geneva Convention (UNHCR 2010). Within this context, ‘forced migration’ refers to movements driven by conflict, violence, human rights violations, or disasters, often involving coercion (International Organisation for Migration (IOM) 2019), and it is used interchangeably with ‘forced displacement’, which describes people forced to flee their homes under such circumstances.
The term ‘intersectionality’ provides a lens to understand how overlapping identities, such as gender, ethnicity, race, ability, religion, sexuality, disability, and migration status, shape resettlement experiences, family separation, and access to support systems (Crenshaw 1989). In this research, an intersectional approach was integral to expanding our understanding of this effect. Furthermore, ‘acculturation’ is defined as the process of adapting to a new cultural environment, and we consider Berry’s (1997) framework on assimilation (adopting the new culture fully), separation (retaining original culture while avoiding the new one), integration (balancing both cultures), and marginalisation (belonging to neither culture), alongside how these dynamics may significantly impact the refugee experience (LeMaster et al. 2018).
‘Family’ is typically defined as a unit of people who are related by birth or legal status; the most common appreciation of the term is the concept of the nuclear family. The nuclear family includes partners or spouses—often heterosexual—and underage children, and it most commonly derives from the Global North (Edgar 2004). The Human Rights Committee (1990) proposed that families may be differently determined across societies and, hence, the legal frameworks may vary. For instance, in non-Western/non-European countries, families are conceptualised beyond the institution of a nuclear family to include other family members (Baykara-Krumme and Fokkema 2019; Löbel 2020). In this research, both nuclear and extended family members are considered when discussing family separation.
1.2. This Study
Migration is a gendered process, particularly in the context of forced displacement and asylum-seeking families. Research indicates that men are more likely to seek asylum first to establish legal status and secure family reunification (Kraus et al. 2019; Tiilikainen et al. 2023a). This pattern has been observed across both Western and non-Western migration routes, with men representing the majority of asylum seekers in the UK, Europe, and other host regions (Eurostat 2021; Home Office 2023; Kraus et al. 2019; REACH and Mixed Migration Platform 2017). However, restrictive immigration policies and prolonged family reunification processes have increasingly led to long-term separations, fundamentally reshaping refugee men’s resettlement experiences (Tiilikainen et al. 2023a).
Despite the significant role of men during resettlement, there remains a critical gap in research on their post-migration lived experience. Most studies tend to group refugees together irrespective of gender (Golembe et al. 2021; Ziersch et al. 2020), failing to account for how gendered expectations, such as financial provision, caregiving from a distance, and cultural constructions of masculinity may shape resettlement outcomes. Furthermore, accounts on family separation have a significantly higher female sample representation (Kristjánsdóttir and Skaptadóttir 2019; Rowley et al. 2020; Sim et al. 2023), leaving male perspectives underexplored. The impact of family separation on mental health, economic security, and social integration has been well documented in refugee studies (Fogden et al. 2020; Hvidtfeldt et al. 2022; Liddell et al. 2021). However, the intersection of masculinity, resettlement stress, and transnational family responsibilities has received far less scholarly attention (Tiilikainen et al. 2023b). Male refugees are precariously positioned in the context of humanitarian aid at present, and are overlooked in mental health research (Papadopoulos and Gionakis 2018). Studies have shown that male refugees often struggle with guilt, stress, and identity conflicts related to their inability to physically care for or protect their families (Nickerson et al. 2011). This reinforces the need for a gender-sensitive approach to understanding the impact of family separation and its subsequent consequences in relation to the resettlement process. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to answer the following research question: How do male refugees experience family separation during their efforts to resettle in the UK?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design and Methodological Approach
A qualitative design with an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was chosen to enable a rich and nuanced examination of the complexities of family separation (Iosifides 2020). Qualitative approaches represent powerful tools for studying under-researched psycho-social phenomena by allowing for a deep, contextualised understanding of people’s subjective experiences (Barker et al. 2016; Ritchie 2019) and engaging marginalised communities in research (Douedari et al. 2021; Saltsman and Majidi 2021). Particularly, qualitative research facilitates the exploration of the emotional, social, and psychological dimensions that may not be easily captured through quantitative methods (Duffy and Chenail 2009). Qualitative research is well-suited to ensure that participants’ voices are authentically represented in the literature and that their narratives contribute meaningfully to academic, clinical, and policy discussions.
IPA examines how people create meaning over complex major life experiences, including transition periods. It draws from phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography (Smith et al. 2022). Forced displacement, resettlement, and family separation may represent major life transitions for refugee men, making IPA an appropriate methodological choice. IPA focuses on participants’ lived experiences, their associated significance, and the researchers’ interpretations. Meanwhile, the analysis is understood as a joint project of researcher and researcher (Smith et al. 2009, p. 110). The interpretative nature of this qualitative method acknowledges the researcher’s role in co-constructing meaning with participants. This dual-layered interpretation, often referred to as the “double hermeneutic”, is a fundamental characteristic of IPA, where the researcher makes sense of the participant making sense of their experience. This approach ensures that the findings are not just descriptive, but also provide deeper insights into the psychological impact of forced family separation within the broader context of forced migration.
2.2. Consultation
Consultation occurred through multiple routes and with an interdisciplinary focus. People with different life experiences and expertise, including lived experience of forced migration and the asylum system, expertise in displacement research and policy, or frontline clinical practice with displaced communities were consulted to enhance inclusivity, strengthen community engagement and improve research relevance (Deverka et al. 2012). The recruitment of consultants was facilitated through social media advertisement, email distribution lists, and collaboration with the organisations that supported recruitment. Consultants actively influenced the formulation of the research question and eligibility criteria, the choice of methodology, and the identification of recruitment pathways to facilitate participation. They also supported refining question phrasing and sequencing in the interview schedule to enhance accessibility and participant comfort with the questions, as well as data interpretation by providing insights into the conceptualisation of themes and the meaning-making process of lived experience accounts.
2.3. Recruitment
London-based organisations supporting refugees in the UK, including the Helen Bamber Foundation and Freedom from Torture, supported the recruitment. Both organisations provide integrated support to people who have experienced state/non-state violence. In each setting, a clinical psychologist functioned as the liaison contact to actively advertise the research, identify eligible participants, and initiate researcher–participant communication. Clinicians could refer eligible and interested service users, following a brief screening process to mitigate potential risks (i.e., clinical presentation, risk assessment, progress in therapy) and identify individual needs (i.e., level of English language). Following this, service users’ contact details were shared with the lead researcher to discuss research objectives, participation, and interview arrangements.
Participants were eligible if they were male refugees over the age of 18 years old, living in the UK, and had experienced forced family separation due to displacement. Across organisations, 16 potential participants were identified as per inclusion criteria, with 9 included in the final sample (see Figure 1 and Table 1). Family separation was considered a painful topic for male refugees; therefore, some potential participants showed scepticism towards an external researcher and did not feel comfortable sharing their stories without a pre-established rapport, or considered their emotions “raw” and were afraid of the emotional toll their participation would have on their mental health.
2.4. Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations are central to research involving people in situations of forced migration, given the power imbalances, precarious legal status, and potential risks associated with participation (Clark-Kazak 2017). The IPA design and consultation with experts by experience helped to shift power imbalances between researchers and participants, which is one of the key ethical concerns in displacement research, and move towards a dynamic and collaborative knowledge production. The study adhered to ethical principles aligned with institutional research ethics guidelines and approval.
Participants were provided with research materials, including an informed consent form and a participant information sheet, ahead of the interview. All participant data were anonymised, stored, and protected in the encrypted university’s drive. The interview recordings and consent forms were kept in separate folders; hard copies were destroyed. Potentially identifying information was removed from the transcripts to maintain anonymity.
Given the sensitive and complex nature of family separation, safeguarding measures were in place to ensure participants’ well-being and mitigate potential risks. These included the clinician’s screening process, the introduction of grounding rules and participation rights during the interview, a personalised safeguarding plan, and transparency about the lead researchers’ cultural background and motivation to cultivate trust and rapport. For interviews conducted face-to-face, an on-call clinician was also available on site. At the end of the interview, participants were provided with a debrief letter and additional sources of support.
Ethical research in forced migration requires careful navigation of the balance between experience-gathering, knowledge-generation and prevention of re-traumatisation (Clark-Kazak 2017; Dehghan and Wilson 2019). Recognising that refugees are often repeatedly asked to recount traumatic experiences (e.g., asylum applications and legal processes), this study ensured that questions were framed in such a way as to minimise distress while allowing participants control over what they shared. For example, as advised by consultants, the questions moved from the present to past experiences to allow reflections on the ‘here and now’, build rapport at the start of the interview, and to prevent participants’ re-traumatisation and/or dissociation.
2.5. Procedure
An in-depth interview schedule was developed to facilitate the interviews with open-ended questions on the experience of family separation, gender-related difficulties with asylum-seeking alone, and the impact of separation on family cohesion. Participants were offered the opportunity to complete the interview in their native language with the support of an interpreter. Available interpretation increased the inclusivity of non-fluent male refugees, who are often further marginalised due to language barriers (Fennig and Denov 2021). Experienced interpreters holding long-standing collaborations with the organisations supported the interviews.
The interviews were conducted from August to January 2024 and lasted between 32 and 72 min (mean average: 58 min). Of all the interviews, six were completed face-to-face, two via telephone, and one online via MS Teams. Most interviews were conducted in English (N = 7), though two interviews were conducted with an interpreter in Arabic (N = 1) and Tigrinya (N = 1). The interviews were audio-recorded, and notes were taken on non-verbal behaviour where possible. Participants’ travel expenses were covered, and a £10 cash reward was offered for their time.
Although the interviews varied in length, ranging from 32 to 72 min, they were all considered in-depth due to the richness and detail of the data collected. In-depth in qualitative research refers to the depth and complexity of the information shared, not just the duration of the interview (Aspers and Corte 2019). In order to ensure this, a rapport-building approach was employed, where the interview process was paced according to each participant’s comfort level. This allowed participants to freely express their feelings, experiences, and interpretations of family separation, particularly within the emotional and psychological context of resettlement in the UK.
Flexible questioning enabled the researcher to explore significant themes in detail, consistent with the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which focuses on capturing rich, authentic accounts of lived experiences (Smith et al. 2022). Additionally, professional interpreters were used for non-English-speaking participants, ensuring that emotional depth was preserved and that language barriers did not hinder the expression of participants’ experiences. The shorter length of one interview reflects the natural flow of the conversation, where the participant conveyed their emotions and reflections meaningfully within the time constraints.
2.6. Analysis
All the interviews were transcribed verbatim; the English grammar and syntax used by participants were not corrected to maintain the conversations’ authenticity. Data was analysed following the IPA framework (Smith et al. 2022) (Table 2). Multiple methods were implemented in order to ensure the researchers’ reflexivity and the rigour of the analysis. Bracketing sessions were facilitated for the lead researcher (DK) in three stages: before data collection, before data analysis, and before write-up. Bracketing, rooted in phenomenological research, is a method to identify and set aside preconceptions that may influence the research process (Tufford and Newman 2012). Unlike reflexivity, which acknowledges and integrates the researcher’s position within the study, bracketing involves a deliberate and systematic effort to suspend assumptions, biases, and prior experiences in order to engage with the data more openly and rigorously. Each session entailed a semi-structured conversation with a research colleague to help the lead researcher surface implicit presuppositions. Furthermore, continuous reflective discussions with the research team and journaling were also methods to enhance self-reflection.
3. Results
Three Group Experiential Themes (GETs), with subsequent subthemes, were identified (Table 3). Direct quotations1 aim to position men’s voices in the centre of the research, and, alongside phenomenological interpretations, to construct meanings about the experience of family separation during displacement.
3.1. GET 1: “Family Separation Just Break You Inside”—The Emotional Burden of Being Away from Loved Ones
Family separation had a multi-faceted psychological impact on participants’ lives, which Aslam described as “just break you inside”. This GET illustrates the emotional burden of being alone in the UK, and the multiplicity of feelings across individual stories of asylum-seeking as an unaccompanied minor, young man, father, or gay man. It describes experiences of emotional and physical disconnection from significant others and shifted life perspectives without the presence of family.
3.1.1. Absence of Family: Lonely and Socially Isolated
The absence of loved ones left men with deep feelings of loneliness, emptiness, and isolation. Rahim described difficulty naming his feelings and expressed an emotion of emptiness in his life: “I have a little big gap”. Loneliness was intertwined with the reality of being alone in a foreign country without emotional or practical support from significant others. Anjaan emphasised his experience of coming to the UK without his support system. Similarly, Dialogue expressed sadness for not being present in his children’s lives, and despite managing to create a new life in the UK, he still experiences “family loneliness”.
Doyo described loneliness as both a physical and emotional reaction, which can be understood here as the result of physical distance and lack of geographical proximity, while Maj viewed it as a mental health difficulty, an emotional response not present when surrounded by loved ones. For some participants, this was further explained by their difficulties in developing meaningful friendships or romantic relationships. Doyo indicated that the fast-paced life rhythms in the British culture might hinder human connection and the formation of social bonds, as “people are very busy so it’s not easy…”. Similar thoughts were shared by others and may reflect the differences between collectivist and individualistic societies. Doyo, Maj, and Aslam discussed romantic loneliness and their desire to emotionally connect with a partner and be in a committed relationship. Doyo expressed that this was a missed aspect of the interview on family separation, given that his experience as a single man in the UK may be different without having a partner to reconnect with and with whom to be romantically intimate:
“…It was very long to be lonely as a man, a grown-up man, without any relationship, without being able to meet your relatives. […] it’s hard to start a relationship because you want to be a man. I don’t know about guys like me, I can say if I’m in a relationship I have to fulfil some responsibility […] I try to be in connection with women. But… (laughs) I can say it’s like… if I can try, is it going to be successful? Maybe I will bring stress to someone who wants a better life”.—Doyo
Maj’s loneliness is embedded in his intersectional identity. He discussed his negative experiences dating other men in the UK, both as an African man dating white people, as well as an asylum-seeker. Maj questioned the LGBTQ+ visibility, and allyship in the UK, as he found it difficult to understand how, although people advocate for human rights, men still do not want to openly form romantic relationships, and he shared that men “just wanna have fun” without forming a “proper relationship”. His comments suggest that homophobic attitudes in the UK and internalised homophobia may still negatively impact the way gay men experience romance. Romantic relationships, closeness, and intimacy can fulfil the absence of family, and the feeling of emptiness that people experience. Aslam discussed his ex-partner, who provided a sense of safety, love, and care: “I had a girlfriend for six years. I was spending time with her, so I was just happy with her, but then we broke up, so now I’m feeling alone again…”.
Finally, men expressed other psychosocial difficulties associated with loneliness, including a lack of energy and motivation, emotional exhaustion (“heart also very tired”), low mood, and thoughts that life is not worth living. Aslam described that it is difficult to find enthusiasm about life when feeling lonely and that he does not want to leave the house. Similarly, Paul portrayed loneliness as a feeling he wants to “escape” and to “stay a little bit away”, demonstrating the need to minimise the psychological impact of his thoughts.
3.1.2. Life Without a Family No Longer Has a Meaning
Feelings of loneliness, isolation, and social exclusion can exacerbate certain emotional responses, such as sadness, numbness, and suicidality. Through their narratives, men spoke about the centrality of family in life and the absence of purpose if this is lost. Men discussed their experiences of struggling with depression, suicidal feelings and behaviours, and the ways that this is interconnected with the complexities of being in a foreign country alone.
Being separated from family creates an emotional numbness, “feeling nothing” and being on autopilot, as described by Aslam, “I don’t have family, I’m not breathing and I’m not alive”.
For most men, living without family had an impact on their mood and motivation to keep themselves going, as noted by Sham: “I am surviving by taking the medication [*shows a box of antidepressants*]. It kind of tricks my mind for not worrying too much and I can only sleep once I’ve taken those medications”.
In Anjaan’s story, the sense of hopelessness and helplessness was very strong, and the separation negatively coloured his experience of resettlement, as he described “I’m very upset. I was a cry. […] Always that time I think why my life? What is my life, this one life?” He disclosed a history of suicidal behaviours, inpatient hospitalisations following suicide attempts, and his thoughts that life is not worth living. The suicidal feelings were more intense during instances of uncertainty and hopelessness about family reunification and the quality of his life in the UK without his family:
“I can’t never see my wife and daughter and mom and dad. Yeah. So, then I decided why I want to live? What’s the point? I don’t want to live this way. I kill myself”.—Anjaan
Anjaan struggled with low mood and post-traumatic stress associated with his experience of torture, escape, and family separation. Intense sadness and trauma influenced the frequency of his thoughts about death and his tolerance of difficult emotions: “Sadness and the… sadness I manage because first I can’t control. That’s why I kill myself. I don’t want to live”.
Similar experiences were shared by Dialogue, whose suicidal feelings were situated within his guilt, shame, and disappointment in leaving his family behind and not achieving reunification. Dialogue felt that it was his failure, despite having lots of plans to bring his children to the UK. He lost faith in other people, and he was overwhelmed by self-blame, which led him at one point to consider attempting to take his own life.
The existence of family and the hope to reunite with their loved ones for some people acted as a protective factor at times when they were feeling suicidal. For example, Paul discussed the benefit of having his family next to him to prevent negative thoughts, the impact his suicide would have on his children and the strength he draws on his family to keep himself alive:
“If I had my family with me, I think it could be a little bit easier because I was thinking a little bit less. […] Oh, sometimes I can watch some videos of my children playing or some photos when they were, something like one year, two years and it gives me strength to keep going on and… sometimes I say to myself, if now I pass away… it will be more difficult for them”.—Paul
In support of this, Bilal, who did not report suicidal feelings but spoke about his struggles with low mood and emotional isolation away from his family, reflected that family helps him to manage hardships, can distract him from day-to-day problems, and provides emotional support:
“When you live with your… around people, like your family, your mom, your wife, your children… you are distracted, even if life is difficult. But there is somebody there to support you, to talk to you”.—Bilal
Rahim, who described being in a better psychological place at the time of the interview, spoke about other men whose mental health does not improve significantly over time:
“…a lot of people they have no family… and some people still look like a mad, so they don’t talk with anyone […] some people is mentally ill, so they don’t come back, the normal life is hard to them…”—Rahim
Some participants did not report suicidal feelings themselves, but showed solidarity with those who were not able to cope with the sadness and loneliness of family separation. For instance, Doyo shared his understanding of the layers of difficulties during resettlement and considered that other male refugees’ mental health has further deteriorated since he met them.
3.1.3. Time- and Context-Dependant Emotional Responses
Men’s personal accounts suggest that the emotional impact of family separation tends to fluctuate over time and is context-dependant, including the migrants’ migration journey and past family life, the presence or lack thereof of communication with loved ones, the geographical proximity, and the circumstances of the separation.
Men detailed the sadness associated with separation and its relationship to time. For Aslam, the early resettlement period was harder than the present day, after almost two decades of not having a shared life with his family, which may indicate that overwhelming feelings may cease to be so overwhelming and improve with time. However, regardless of how many years have passed by, loneliness can be chronic and persistent.
Conversely, Bilal considered separation more present over time, as “it’s very difficult to be away from your family, especially when the time is around four or five years already”. Equally, Dialogue felt that the longer the absence from his children’s lives, the worse it is for their relationship, as noted, “I’m still alive, but I’m not on their side. […] For how long? So long! For 14 years”. Doyo also expressed that missing his family becomes harder the longer one is away when he stated, “It’s very hard to miss your relatives for such a long time. Especially me, I left my country in [year]. So since, yeah, I’ve never met any of my relatives, my mother…”. Bilal conceptualised family separation differently across periods of migration, such as before vs. after leaving his country, and stated that there was a gap between his expectations prior to displacement and the reality in the UK. He used the concepts of “nostalgia” and “passion” which may have distinct historical, cultural, and societal meanings that may suggest both positive and negative colours in his experiences in time. Family separation also depended on its repetition, as separating from the family multiple times was unbearable:
“I thought my wish was just to see them once, even my dream was just to see them once… but now when I saw them and I came back, the feeling is even worse […] I was leaving them again”.
The emotional toll of separation may be more impactful on unaccompanied minors separated from primary caregivers, like Aslam. His narrative raised a sense of feeling unprotected, abandoned, and the difficulties managing his sadness: “I came to UK at the age of 15. So… I didn’t have no one, no family here as my family. […] I was crying every day, sad every day, missing my mom, missing family, my brothers, siblings”. Men’s personal accounts implicitly expressed how their position in the family may have influenced their separation experience. Unlike Aslam, who travelled as a minor, Bilal held the role of the protector leaving dependants behind in a war zone or unsafe circumstances. For him, it was not just the act of separation, but also the unsafe context in which his family lived.
Paul discussed the trauma of losing his father at an early age and, thus, experiencing separation from his caregiver in an unexpected way, and the repetition of the intergenerational trauma on his children: “my heart is just broken because I never… I was not planning my life that way. It seems like the same story happening again, what’s happened to me, is happening to my children too”. The conceptualisation of absence through death is considered to have a similar impact as the absence through separation here.
The experience of separation was also influenced by the family life people had and the context in which they were separated. For Bilal, the stronger the bonds, the harder the separation: “it’s very difficult to be away from your family, especially […] when you have a very good and strong relationship with your family and you have… you were very close to them, and suddenly you have to leave them…”. On the contrary, Maj’s family separation happened in the background of parental rejection of his sexual identity. He viewed resettlement as an opportunity to explore his sexuality and feel empowered, as in his belief “you separate from them to come and see new challenges, new culture”. Growing up as a gay man, Maj had to conceal his identity (“do not ever tell them to be a gay man”) and felt afraid of his parents (“if my parents find out... I attempt to go for that ball, they said it’s not good, why did he do that?”). He discussed the lack of freedom within the context of family and home country to be fully himself, and the need to escape this, as “It’s like a two-fight. The government is against that. If your family is against that as well… the family that will protect you, hide you from stuff, that means it’s not safe”. For him, family separation also meant rejection, homophobia, betrayal, confusion, and abandonment.
Communication and connection with family members was reported by participants as very important, whereas limited communication, or completely losing touch with loved ones, was described by Aslam as “It’s killing me inside”. Bilal’s communication with family was affected by his long journey to reach the UK and lack of access to the internet or telephone:
“…the connection with my family was very difficult, I couldn’t communicate with them until I arrived to this country. After arriving to this country, I was able to communicate with them, but still from their side, it was difficult because they were in a state of war”.—Bilal
In others’ narratives, there was a sense of intense sadness and hopelessness for not being able to locate their children and knowing they were safe. Reflecting on their loss, participants started crying and we briefly paused the interview in both instances indicating that the emotional pain is still raw and present in their lives:
“I lost contact with them for two years. […] I realised that the phone, the number not the phone, the number I used to call them don’t go through anymore. Can’t go for a second, can’t (crying)”.—Dialogue
“I got separated from my children when I went out for work and then traffickers took me to [country]… it was not a planned thing. I didn’t mean to leave them behind, but it’s because of what happened, because of the incident […] I have not had the chance to speak with them. I haven’t had contact since. I’m still trying to find their number to reach them”.—Sham
Most men reported feeling triggered by certain situations, such as being exposed to what they do not have in their lives and feeling jealous of others for their privilege to be with family. Aslam described how social media acted as a reminder of the family’s absence from his life, as described: “Especially on social media, if I watch some videos about moms, any videos about siblings, it was just like making me emotional and cry by my own”. Men also discussed the triggering nature of witnessing families outside:
“When you see the everyone in the park outside when you go and when you see the nice family, they’re going gathering together. So you feel more bad. Maybe I am missing my family”.—Rahim
Participants found that video or image communication was extremely painful for numerous reasons. For Paul, seeing his children in photographs was a depiction of their unhappiness in his absence, while for others face-to-face video communication brought up sadness and tearfulness. Men’s responses also indicated feelings of helplessness and powerlessness to have control over their lives.
3.2. GET 2: “Maybe They Think I Left Them”—The Responsibility to Be Present
Men shared a sense of responsibility for their families, which can be conceptualised through the lens of patriarchal gender roles and masculinity. Guilt and shame were associated with the act of leaving the family behind and abandonment, as captured in Paul’s words, “maybe they think I left them”. This GET outlines the complexities of separating from family to escape harm and seek safety, and the meaning attached to this action as informed by the role and unique position men hold in their families.
3.2.1. Abandoning the Family Through the Lens of Masculinity
The act of leaving, in some men’s minds, was an act of abandonment and was associated with guilt, shame, self-blame, failure, worthlessness, and regret. Bilal carried responsibility for the sequence of events, the urgency and burden to leave his family behind when embarking on his journey to seek safety, as “suddenly you have to leave them”. His narrative had an active voice and an essence of accountability when he said, “what I have left back at home is my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, my wife and my two children”. Bilal also expressed strong feelings of shame, disappointment, and guilt, acting against his parental beliefs: “I always say to myself, ‘how did I dare to leave them and to abandon them?’ […] They are part of me”.. Similarly, Paul reflected on the day he left and described leaving as an abandonment of his family, which remains for him incomprehensible. Dialogue noted, “I left one part of me behind”, when thinking of his children, while Sham discussed the emotional burden and guilt of leaving his children without warning, without saying goodbye, and completely unprotected.
Men expressed deeply rooted beliefs about manhood and fatherhood and the ways in which men should provide, support, and protect their families, particularly their dependants. For Rahim, the priority for men is to provide financial security to their families, and refugees often fail to fulfil this role because “you have no work permit and no money, your mind is not good because you cannot help anyone”. This idea was also supported by Dialogue, who believed that refugee men separated from their families need to consider “how to support them financially” while “the most important is emotional, psychology support”. He supported that a man’s role is to create a caring, loving, and safe environment for his family, as he described that a responsible man “still care about the children, care about their wife, physically, emotionally, financially, and give them more safety, assurance” and he felt like he failed.
Dialogue’s core beliefs about his male and parental role were solidly established, resulting in continuous emerging self-conceptualisations as a failure, a worthless, powerless father, and a neglectful husband throughout the interview. This self-image nods to the emotional burden he carries with him all those years:
“I was unable to do my duty as a husband, as a father. So, double, double failure. And I was so powerless, and my big regret is that it’s my fault. It’s my fault because I should be there with them, or they should be there with me”.—Dialogue
Paul also shared beliefs about the intersectional roles of masculinity and parenthood. He saw himself as the protector of his children and the “only one” who could offer them safety besides his wife, therefore letting them down.
The sense of abandonment was also characterised by the uncertainty of seeking asylum in the context of family separation, powerlessness, and self-blame for the harm caused to loved ones, particularly children. Anjaan reflected on the questions received from his daughter about family reunification, such as “When we going to reunited? Always when we going to reunite? When we going to settle the family?” which he found overwhelming and difficult to answer. Men shared Anjaan’s pain with leaving their children in uncertainty due to a lack of resources, power, and information, as their asylum case was beyond their own control, indicating emotional tiredness and the inability to provide reassurance and validation, which subsequently almost felt inauthentic:
“I have to speak to them, when they ask me, Dad, where are you? When are you coming? I’m just tired all the time to lie on them, to say, oh no, I’m not that far, I’m coming on Friday”.—Paul
Across men’s stories, there was another common element, as Bilal described, “I felt regret, but I had no other choice. I had to leave”. Although men felt regret for ‘abandoning’ their families back home, and often in an unsafe environment, they also acknowledged the danger they were in and the urgency to reach safety. For instance, Paul stated, “I left my home country, I was just looking for safety” and Aslam noted, “my life was endangered myself, so I have to leave my home country and my family”.
Their stories often indicated that they could provide more to their families by being alive and far away, rather than tortured or dead. As such, men considered that the hardships of seeking asylum, and their sacrifices were the first step to providing a better and safer future for their families.
3.2.2. Worrying About Family
The men’s accounts suggested worrying in their absence about their families’ welfare and hierarchy of needs, such as basic needs and psychological safety. Paul expressed his lack of knowledge about his children’s access to food and water or if they were eating every day. He also worried about his wife’s and children’s unhappiness and emotional pain while he was away, taking responsibility for their suffering: “Now some people are suffering because of me and not good at all”.
The love and closeness participants shared with their families were central to their stories and provided the foundation for their worries. For example, Paul worried about his wife’s sadness over his resettlement and concealed the struggles of being alone and “nothing” away from his community in the UK. Rahim also expressed worries for the emotional pain and harm caused to his family following his escape, noting that “they suffer a lot for me by police”.
These fears were shared by Anjaan, as he worried that his persecutors could “reach illegally” his family and “can track my phone calls to my wife and daughter”, which makes him feel “very, very scary” of what could happen to them. For others, the fears about their families’ safety are contextualised in the war and political climate of their countries. Aslam, Doyo and Bilal shared that their worries also stemmed from the hardships their loved ones faced while they were separated, including witnessing their country’s social and economic decline and struggling in unsafe conditions. Worries about the family welfare coloured the separation with additional distress and a deep sense of anxiety.
3.2.3. Missing Moments in Time: Loss and Grief
Men disclosed their need to be present in significant life events. Most shared guilt for missing important moments, being absent and unable to travel for a long time, which ranged from 18 months to almost two decades, evidencing the time-consuming and re-traumatising process of claiming asylum in the UK. Rahim unfolded the internal conflict of being a member of the family but not feeling like a member of the family due to his prolonged absence: “Sometime I feel maybe, maybe I exist in the family before. I am on the family still, so, but… how can I describe? […] I’m long time outside”. Rahim explained that he “missed a lot of things” including weddings, funerals, and Eid celebrations.
Missing significant life events was also dominant in other men’s accounts, with Doyo recounting that “it’s like missing… I have missed many things that I could experience in my life. I left my country when I was 26”. On the other hand, Anjaan discussed the loss of his daughter’s childhood, years and memories that cannot be replaced: “she was two years […] I miss 14 years, how misses dad love, yeah, how I miss my daughter love”.. These experiences were shared by other fathers, such as Paul, who described that “the miss is too high” when considering his children.
Maj, who had strong bonds with his family before his persecution, spoke about missing “the good memories, like… eating in the same plate. […] Sit down, eat, satisfied, you know, go to the shops, come back home together” and learning from the family members he admired, including his father for whom he said that “he’s a big man, he has knowledge, and he knows what he knows, so... I miss all that”. Men suggested that their absence had a notable impact on the nature of their relationships with significant others, such as parents and children. Maj stated with sadness in his voice, “I love my mum, I was so close, we were so close” indicating multiple losses within this separation including the bond, intimacy, and cohesion.
Most men experienced bereavement and carried with them the grief of losing a parent or a family member for years. Some participants’ narratives indicated that they still had not come to terms with their loss. The denial of a loved one’s loss is associated with not being able to attend their funerals, having the opportunity to be by their side in their final moments, or saying goodbye, calling attention to the power of the refugee status over people’s lives and freedom of movement beyond borders.
“My daddy died, before I got the paper. […] So I couldn’t ever to go back to and I see, I cannot see to him for the last time”.—Rahim
Lastly, men reflected on how it feels to not only lose your family, but in the background of this losing everything. “Losing everything” including family, home, country, culture, memories, friends, was either explicitly or implicitly mentioned by men, while the impact of the multiple losses was unspoken or hidden behind other aspects of their narratives.
3.3. GET 3: “They Don’t Like You to Be Here”—Experiences Embedded in Masculinity and Intersectionality
Men expressed different aspects of their identities, such as gender, disability, age, parenthood, sexuality, race, immigration status, and the ways these intersected with their experience of family separation and resettlement in the UK. This GET explores men’s difficulties considering the existence of patriarchal, ableist, and racialised societal ideas, and in relation to behaviours constituted as the ‘norm’ for men. Here, intersectionality is crucial to capture people’s identities not solely as refugees, but alongside other factors that may position men differently in society.
3.3.1. Powerlessness and Helplessness
Male power and patriarchy (“rule of the father”) have dominated the world since pre-historical periods (Levy 2022) and have likely informed participants’ beliefs about societal expectations. Despite the limited resources refugees may have, the expectations did not vanish following their migration journeys. Throughout people’s stories, powerlessness and helplessness were focal points and related to other aspects of their identities, unique to each participant. Powerlessness showed up in different ways, such as in relation to their position, power, and privileges within the family, their community, and themselves.
Rahim’s absence from the family not only signified a change in his involvement in family decisions but also his ability to hold power within the household. Hence, Rahim often felt unable to help, especially during the early time of resettlement, failing the expectations placed upon him as a family man. Likewise, Bilal’s narrative suggests feeling powerless as a man, within his identity as a husband and father who is far away and unable to support his family: “you are here, you cannot do anything to help them”.. The accentuation of the word “anything” underlines the perception of his weakness. Dialogue, who has a strong cultural identity contributing to his understanding of himself and the world, felt worthless in the eyes of his family and described losing his masculine authority over his children. Consequently, he did not feel respected as the head of their household, and he forfeited the ability to influence decisions and shape his children’s lives. Reflecting on a transitional period when his children moved without his consent to a neighbouring country with extended family members, he said:
“I lost my power, I lost my authorities. So, what I’ve done, I will take decisions, what I’m going to do for them. They don’t care anymore about me. So, when I found out, it very hurt me, I feel frustrated. It was a big, big humiliation for me. It’s my first time, I feel very humiliated. Take decisions for my children, they don’t associate me. It’s like… you are nothing, they don’t care about you. So that day I realised that I was very useless”.—Dialogue
The loss of power and agency was also experienced by men in relation to their previous social status. For example, Paul had a professional position with privileges to support his community, while his role meant that he was able to independently make decisions and be in control of his life. On the contrary, resettling in the UK alone, he felt “like a child” as he mentioned, “Everything I need, I have to ask and I don’t like that”.. Paul’s words indicate the discrepancies between his past and current life and the impact of completely losing agency: “I’m nothing in this country”.
The men articulated a sense of disempowerment stemming from governmental asylum policies, frequently coupled with the stigmatising label of “illegal immigrant”. This perceived lack of agency underscored the significant power imbalance inherent in the relationship between the nation-state and asylum seekers, who often experience a precarious existence marked by exclusion from social systems that typically provide security, stability, and a sense of predictability. For instance, Rahim demonstrated that government bodies carry great power over refugees’ settlement and right to remain in the UK, which feeds into the uncertainty of seeking asylum and the fear of deportation: “Home Office, anytime send you back, you are back in your country”.
Men discussed the power of asylum to enable them to visit their families and begin the process of reunification, which remains in the hands of the country. Unsurprisingly, being granted asylum marked the beginning of a new life for participants, what Rahim described as “heaven”. The refugee status indicated becoming “legal” and acquiring the freedom to travel.
3.3.2. Systems: Experiences of Hostility, Racism, Discrimination, and Opportunities
Most participants reported experiences of racism and discrimination, both institutional and societal. Hostility was compounded within the intersections of race, gender, religious and migration status, as Paul described, “Sometimes you see you are not on the right place for sure. I’m sorry to say that, but... they look at you, you see on their face, they don’t like you to be here for sure…”. Some experienced racism by individuals in everyday situations (“if you are on the bus”), while other narratives focused on the hostility of the immigration system. For instance, Dialogue, whose initial claim was rejected, and was only granted asylum many years later, described the harm inflicted upon him by the Home Office. Prior to his arrival in the UK, Dialogue expected that people’s human rights would be protected, however, his experience in detention centres proved the opposite:
“It’s discrimination to be honest. That’s it. It’s discrimination. Make people that because of your gender, you are more vulnerable than another gender. So, let’s make some favour to that gender, you…you are a man, it’s like they go to punish you because you’re a man. So, you know that you got to be strong so you can deal with the pain they are going to inflict you. […] It’s the power of their hostile environment they are making purpose to eat you up, to give up”.—Dialogue
Dialogue recognised that the gendered assumptions and traditional expectations of masculinity, such as resilience, strength, and toughness, acted as reasons to be discriminated against. These ideas insinuate the detrimental effects of patriarchy on men. However, his words also accentuate the racist and unjust treatment of people seeking protection and the current conditions with immigration: “You are not welcome. They don’t believe you. Go back to your country. I said wow”…
Maj, whose initial claim for asylum based on sexual orientation was met with disbelief, also described the Home Office’s adversarial approach, expressing disappointment and contrasting this with his prior expectations: “I did not expect this from the government, like if you want to seek protection […] I think the country just... the UK turned around against me”.. Moreover, Anjaan shared that a terrorist investigation was initiated when he sought asylum in the UK, driven by his protected characteristics, possibly indicating anti-Muslim sentiment and islamophobia: “When I was applied, within three days, the TID and CID, Terrorist Investigation Department and CID, yeah, both went to my home. I don’t know how they know”.
Rahim found a way to radically accept those imbalances and believes that “everyone is not equal anywhere in this world it will be up and down”. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that not all participants had discriminatory experiences. For example, Bilal reported:
“…until now I haven’t experienced any type of or any act of racism from any person when I ask a question and…told me ‘oh you didn’t understand, you don’t understand’ or ‘you have to learn the language’, I never experienced something like that as it happened in other countries”.—Bilal
Overall, most participants expressed deep gratitude for the support and opportunities available in the UK, especially in contrast to their countries of origin. Many highlighted how the UK offers a better quality of life, with access to education, housing, and financial assistance, which significantly improves their circumstances. Some also appreciated the welcoming nature of the UK and its people, recognizing the efforts made to help refugees integrate and feel at home. This sense of inclusion and support helped alleviate some of their worries, making their resettlement experience more positive.
3.3.3. Navigating a New Country Alone: Post-Migration Difficulties and Acculturation
On the background of family separation, men disclosed the challenges of navigating a foreign country on their own, and often completely alone. Participants discussed the limited access to food, housing, employment, and healthcare services, as well as the long and time-consuming process of seeking asylum. Paddling in unfamiliar waters without a female familial presence by their side was a “cultural shock”, as described by Rahim. The shift in gender roles demanded that people resist their existing views on masculinity and learn new skills. For some, acting independently without practical support from their families proved arduous due to their disabilities.
Rahim shared his lived experience of separation through the lens of his intersecting identities of gender, culture, disability, and age. He came to the UK in his early 20s, calling himself “very little” for the struggles he faced. Being a victim of torture, Rahim had a permanent disability. This impacted his ability to perform simple tasks without his mother’s presence, like holding objects. In a similar fashion, Anjaan discussed the consequences of torture on his mobility, causing him intense pain and restricting his ability to walk or complete tasks independently. Developing survival skills alongside his disability was a lot of “suffering”. Both of their stories highlighted resettlement barriers and the lack of tailored support for asylum-seekers with visible or invisible disabilities living without a carer in the UK:
“On difficult day when feel pain. When feel more pain anyone I feel always if I have my wife and daughter, they do some massage or something. Whole year, I’m alone. No one. That’s the most suffer here, no one look after me..”.—Anjaan
Men conveyed the stress of surviving in the country without adequate financial aid, access to food, and permanent housing. For example, Rahim contested prevalent misconceptions regarding individuals seeking asylum and refuge within the UK. Meanwhile, perceptions in their countries of origin may depict an exceptionally high quality of life, and he emphasised the stark contrast with lived experience, citing precarious access to sustenance and pervasive poverty: “they’re thinking we are very good, we live in UK so we have everything […] but we cannot survive up here. We are fighting for the food…”.
Most participants experienced homelessness or the risk of becoming homeless, which further deteriorated their mental health, and had a cumulative character to all the other present stressors. Anjaan reported the impact of poor living conditions throughout the stages of asylum-seeking, such as the effects of rough sleeping on both his physical and mental health, the consequences of cold/rainy weather on the degree of his pain, and the shortage of safe shelters.
Aslam reflected on the transition from being an unaccompanied minor to being an adult asylum-seeker and the associated risks of homelessness. His words support the notion of systemic issues and inability to care for and protect young refugees:
“I had the foster services and she was cooking for me, she was looking after me. I had social services, they were looking after me. […] But when my social services stopped, my life was especially finished. I was homeless, I didn’t have no money, I was on the street…”—Aslam
At that point, it seems Aslam’s life once more became uncertain at a very vulnerable age, leading him to believe that his life was “especially finished” and overwhelming him with hopelessness.
The lack of access to housing often came with insufficient financial governmental aid, which, according to participants, was approximately £40 per week and, as Aslam noted, “It is not enough for us all our week, like, if you don’t work”. Participants expressed concerns about the lack of employment opportunities, and many criticised the inability to make money through legal routes during earlier stages of resettlement:
“You cannot work to support your family. You cannot do anything. You have to stay in the hotel the whole day”.—Paul
Consistently, Doyo reflected on the barriers to employment even at later stages of asylum, which continuously posed difficulties in supporting family back home and in fulfilling the provider role: “I had a responsibility to take care of them, maybe financially or something like that and sometimes it’s hard to support, especially when you are a foreigner, can’t try to find a good job or to find something that can help you also to help relatives or friends”.. These challenges were compounded by the protracted and complex nature of the UK asylum procedures.
Some men shared the noticeable changes in their sense of identity as men without their families’ presence and the benefits of being exposed to a different culture. For instance, Rahim reflected on growing up in a large South Asian family, which adhered to a cultural norm in which women were the “leaders” of the house. Rahim and the other men in his family were dependent on women for all the household chores. Upon his arrival in the UK, he realised that men could learn to care for themselves and be independent and responsible. His words indicate a shift in his beliefs around gender roles:
“When you came out from the family, so it’s a bit shocked and you missed everything for like every step. So, like me, I never cooked or do anything in my back home. So maybe… we got everything ready and but nowadays I realise we learn here. […] it’s not only for women. It’s for… anyone can do it, you know?”—Rahim
Aslam’s story was slightly different, but equally important to highlight. He discussed his journey to independence coming too early. It required a great effort to learn to be self-sufficient as a child at a fragile age, when he needed his primary carers. Aslam described the responsibilities of taking care of everything as being “too much” and the weight of these words signifies the influences of growing up alone and the likelihood of feeling abandoned:
“I just came here, and when I was growing up, slowly, slowly, I was just living alone, cooking for myself, washing dishes for myself, washing clothes for myself, clean my room for myself […]. Big change, big change… Breakfast my mom was making, dinner my mom was making, lunch my mom was making. And here I’m on my own. And I just do everything by myself. I just don’t even sometimes eat as well because I’m my own”.—Aslam
Participants also focused on the exposure to difference and diversity, new experiences, and life in the UK. Their narratives suggest that refugees need to respect the country that offers them protection, understand its cultural habits and the identity of their new community, and make efforts to assimilate while balancing their own traditions. For Maj, coming to this country opened the door for freedom and exploration of his sexuality and masculinity far away from fears of persecution and the rejecting eye of his family. He felt empowered to engage with life and people in the UK in order to improve as a person and to live according to his values:
“it’s a different culture here. It’s a different power here. So, I start copying some of the things that you guys doing here, I think so… because I’m changing myself too for the better. Seeing that there is a way to be independent”.—Maj
Moreover, men spoke about the dissonance between people’s ideas and ways of living in the UK compared to their home countries, particularly in relation to human rights and LGBTQ+ identities. Dialogue mentioned his ability to challenge traditional ideas about homosexuality and stated, “I accept it. Even I have a (gay) friend, that things back home, never”. The way he phrased this meaningful change shows the significance of human rights and advocacy, possibly informed by both the development of friendships with people who have been discriminated against based on their sexual preferences and his battles for freedom. In support of his LGBTQ+ friends, Dialogue was criticised by his African peers for letting Western ideas influence his mindset, calling him “coconut” and telling him that “I got that thing about my brain, it’s white, it’s for white people”. Lastly, Maj discussed the internal conflict he often finds himself in when considering embracing his sexuality and holding on to his faith. His story speaks to the complexities of homosexuality in Islam and the explicit condemnations of same-sex sexual acts in the Qur’an.
4. Discussion
The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of male refugees’ experiences of family separation during the post-migration period. Participants reported an array of emotional consequences and post-migration stressors related to family separation, including trauma, low mood, lack of motivation, loneliness, suicidal feelings, and worries about their families. These were particularly pronounced during the resettlement phase in the UK. This supports prior evidence of the negative impact of family separation on refugees’ emotional well-being (Asmal-Lee et al. 2022; Beaton et al. 2018; Fogden et al. 2020; Liddell et al. 2021, 2022; Miller et al. 2018), and the significant association between forced separation and mental illness, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and disturbed eating and sleeping patterns (Fogden et al. 2020; Nickerson et al. 2011; Schweitzer et al. 2006).
Although loneliness has been briefly mentioned and associated with family separation before (Gautam et al. 2018; Mangrio et al. 2019), this study adds considerably to our knowledge of the experienced loneliness and isolation in separated male refugees. Participants discussed post-migration factors that exacerbate or trigger feelings of loneliness such as the observation of other families together, which heightened their sense of isolation in the resettlement context. This could be explained by the theory of ambiguous loss, which captures the experience of a person being psychologically present, but physically absent (Boss 2004). The findings also highlighted romantic loneliness and the difficulty of finding love, connection and intimacy in a partner, which has not been fully explored in male refugee populations (Vitale and Ryde 2018).
Consistent with the literature, the study identified the importance of context. The geographical distance, duration of forced separation, and the context of displacement influenced men’s experiences. Participants shared concerns about their families’ lives and safety in politically unstable places. Previous research on refugee family networks and diaspora also indicated the importance of context on refugees’ mental health decline (Löbel 2020). As such, the further geographically someone’s family was located, the more debilitating separation was for their well-being. Life under constant fear and stress about potential harm and loved ones’ welfare has gained some empirical ground, but has not been further explored (Mangrio et al. 2020; Nickerson et al. 2011; Schweitzer et al. 2006). In this study, it was a significant post-migration stressor, further complicating participants’ adjustment to resettlement. Here, additional factors including serial separations, the nature of familial bonding, and the presence of communication were underlined, all of which contributed to the perception of family separation in male refugees.
This study emphasised the strong sense of responsibility men held towards their families. Men reported experiencing post-migration stressors related to their perceived responsibilities, including feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame for not being able to provide and protect, but also for “abandoning” their families. These feelings were particularly present in fathers. Presence was understood through physical, practical, financial, and emotional support, and ideas around masculinity were key in shaping participants’ beliefs. The desire to financially support families overseas has been reported in other studies (Miller et al. 2018; Savic et al. 2013). Nonetheless, men’s narratives uncovered the multidimensional nature of perceived responsibility that may have previously remained unvoiced. This could potentially be explained by the absence of entirely male samples in the investigation of family separation (Hampton et al. 2021; Liddell et al. 2021; Savic et al. 2013) and the tailored aim to unpack gendered experiences.
Intersectionality affects the experience of family separation in the context of asylum-seeking, racism, and exposure to unfamiliar cultural stimuli. This study shed further light on parental powerlessness and responsibility towards dependants, and almost certainly confirmed the deterioration of male mental health due to delays in family reunification and the inability to provide for dependants financially (Georgiadou et al. 2020; Hvidtfeldt et al. 2022; Miller et al. 2018). Similarly, studies focusing on parents have reported that separation from “at least one child” can increase parental risk for mental health difficulties (Belau et al. 2021; Löbel 2020), which could explain the multi-faceted emotional responses among the fathers in this study, including low mood, suicidality, and loneliness.
4.1. Limitations and Future Directions
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to explore the psychological impact of family separation on refugee men. The findings significantly contribute to the wider literature and increase our understanding of the psycho-social impact of forced separation. However certain limitations are present.
Ethical considerations were a leading aspect in the design, coordination, and completion of this study. It was important for participants to be provided with a space that would be as safe as possible to talk about some potentially painful experiences. Measures were in place to prevent emotional harm to individuals, including distress protocols and robust recruitment supported by organisations (Singh and Wassenaar 2016). However, this approach may have impeded participation from refugees not supported by organisations (Rowley et al. 2020) or people who may have been considered too vulnerable (Dehghan and Wilson 2019). Despite our best efforts to increase access, limitations may still apply due to systemic barriers to seeking mental health support (Pollard and Howard 2021) or clinicians’ selection biases when they consider a research referral (Smith et al. 2022).
Moreover, the participation was accessible to non-English speakers with the support of an experienced interpreter. This approach helped to amplify voices that may have been previously marginalised and excluded from research opportunities due to the difficulties of working cross-culturally and cross-linguistically (Lee et al. 2014). Nevertheless, cultural meanings may be lost in translation; this was mitigated by collaborating with professionally trained interpreters with marked experience working with refugees. The interpreters’ accuracy in language, strong retention of information, and appropriate pacing during the interview increased our confidence in the validity and high quality of the interpretation (Fennig and Denov 2021; Lee et al. 2014).
The current study focused on the experiences of male refugees who had endured family separation. The findings highlighted that the experience of family separation is embedded in intersectionality. Considering the different layers of experiences, it is important for further research to explore family separation in sub-populations, including LBGTQ+ refugees who may have faced parental/family rejection regarding their sexuality, and disabled refugees who may have experienced a lack of essential practical support in the absence of their family during resettlement. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the impact of separation depending on men’s position in the family. Future studies could focus on the role of the family identity one holds when forcibly separated. In the UK, most sponsors for family reunion visas are male (Beswick 2015), while quantitative research shows an increased risk of mental illness in separated fathers (Hvidtfeldt et al. 2022). Thus, it may be beneficial to qualitatively explore their experiences.
4.2. Implications for Policy and Practice
Policymakers should use insights from this study to improve and simplify the family reunification process in the UK. Lately, family reunion processes have become stricter across countries and have posed further difficulties for refugee families to reunite (Tiilikainen et al. 2023a; UNHCR 2018). Policies have introduced firm eligibility criteria for the sponsor (i.e., housing/income) (Hiitola 2019) and socially constructed definitions of “family” biased by Western mentalities (Edgar 2004). The UK family reunion visa narrowly defines family and excludes members such as adult children, parents, and siblings (British Red Cross 2022). Notwithstanding, men without children or wives in this study still struggled with family separation. This has been previously challenged (Wilmsen 2013), but restrictions continue to grow (Beaton et al. 2018). Therefore, adopting more inclusive definitions of “family” is crucial.
Family separation was experienced as an active loss, with men battling with their responsibility to be present for their families while being miles away. Exploring ambiguous loss in the psychotherapeutic context would help separated men to start healing. Research shows that family storytelling and talking about loved ones brings closure (Boss 2004), and that narrative approaches tend to benefit this population (Wright et al. 2020). Moreover, clinicians should aim to anchor positive family memories to alleviate worries and foster resilience. This may be extremely important for separated men who have lost contact with their families, as their grieving process may differ from bereavement. The findings show the critical role of considering intersectionality within the therapeutic context, and the importance of psychological formulations to account for other socio-cultural factors beyond someone’s migration status. Clinicians can actively advocate for service users and support refugee men in their efforts to reunite with their families.
5. Conclusions
This study significantly contributes to our understanding of the impact of family separation on refugee men and the associated cumulative stressors during the post-migration period. The findings highlight that family separation alone is simply not the only problem. Men’s experiences were coloured by complex emotional responses, human rights violations, discrimination, demoralising living conditions, and barriers to social integration. Men experienced a strong sense of responsibility tightly interwoven with guilt and shame, as well as a sense of powerlessness in the UK. The study highlights important implications for clinical practice, policy, and research.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, D.K.; methodology, D.K., D.C. and P.N.; validation, D.C., V.S. and P.N.; formal analysis, D.K.; investigation, D.K.; resources, C.C., E.W. and H.G.; data curation, D.K.; writing—original draft preparation, D.K.; writing—review and editing, D.K., C.C., E.W., H.G., D.C., V.S. and P.N.; supervision, D.C. and V.S.; project administration, D.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by Health, Science, Engineering & Technology Ethics Committee with Delegated Authority at the University of Hertfordshire University (protocol code LMS/PGT/UH/05327(2); 14 June 2023).
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
Data is unavailable due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our deep gratitude to all the participants who shared their stories; this research would not be feasible without you. We would also want to thank Sohail Jannessari, Sylvia Michael, Kamoso Jean Bertrand and the Research Committees at Helen Bamber Foundation and Freedom From Torture for advising the research project at different stages, as well as the clinicians who actively promoted the study to interested and suitable service users.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
| 1 | Direct quotations are presented “within quotation marks”. Further notes: bold text indicates shift in tone of voice, where the participant emphasises words or phrases. […] indicates omitted words to improve the clarity of the personal account. (description) indicates pauses or other non-verbal signs of communication in speech. ( ) indicates words that have been inserted to improve the coherence of the personal account. |
References
- Akhigbe, Allwell Oseahume, and Efetobor Stephanie Effevottu. 2023. For the Greater Good: The Economic and Social Impacts of Irregular Migration on Families in Benin City, Nigeria. In Forced Migration and Separated Families. Edited by Marja Tiilikainen, Johanna Hiitola, Abdirashid A. Ismail and Jaana Palander. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 95–110. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Asmal-Lee, Mujahid, Helen Liebling, and Simon Goodman. 2022. Syria is Our Mom, UK is Like Aunty: The Psychosocial Experiences of Acculturation in Syrian Refugees. Refugee Survey Quarterly 41: 645–72. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Aspers, Patrik, and Ugo Corte. 2019. What is Qualitative in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Sociology 42: 139–60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Barker, Chris, Nancy Pistrang, and Robert Elliott. 2016. Research Methods in Clinical Psychology: An Introduction for Students and Practitioners, 3rd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. [Google Scholar]
- Baykara-Krumme, Helen, and Tineke Fokkema. 2019. The impact of migration on intergenerational solidarity types. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 45: 1707–27. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Beaton, Eilidh, Anna Musgrave, and Josephine Liebl. 2018. Safe But Not Settled: The Impact of Family Separation on Refugees in the UK. Oxfam: Refugee Council. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Belau, Matthias Hans, Heiko Becher, and Alexander Kraemer. 2021. Impact of Family Separation on Subjective Time Pressure and Mental Health in Refugees from the Middle East and Africa Resettled in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18: 11722. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Bergnehr, Disa. 2022. Adapted fathering for new times: Refugee men’s narratives on caring for home and children. Journal of Family Studies 28: 934–49. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Berry, W. John. 1997. Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review 46: 5–34. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Beswick, Jacob. 2015. Not So Straightforward: The Need for Qualified Legal Support in Refugee Family Reunion. London: British Red Cross. Available online: https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/research-publications (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Boss, Pauline. 2004. Ambiguous Loss Research, Theory, and Practice: Reflections After 9/11. Journal of Marriage and Family 66: 551–66. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- British Red Cross. 2022. Together at Last: Supporting Refugee Families Who Reunite in the UK. Maastricht: European Union. [Google Scholar]
- Charsley, Katharine, and Helena Wray. 2015. Introduction: The Invisible (Migrant) Man. Men and Masculinities 18: 403–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Clark-Kazak, Christina. 2017. Ethical Considerations: Research with People in Situations of Forced Migration. Refuge 33: 11–17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 1989. Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989: 139–67. [Google Scholar]
- Dehghan, Roghieh, and James Wilson. 2019. Healthcare professionals as gatekeepers in research involving refugee survivors of sexual torture: An examination of the ethical issues. Developing World Bioethics 19: 215–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Deverka, Patricia A., Danielle C. Lavallee, Priyanka J. Desai, Laura C. Esmail, Scott D. Ramsey, David L. Veenstra, and Sean R. Tunis. 2012. Stakeholder participation in comparative effectiveness research: Defining a framework for effective engagement. Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research 1: 181–94. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Douedari, Yazan, Mervat Alhaffar, Diane Duclos, Mohamed Al-Twaish, Samer Jabbour, and Natasha Howard. 2021. ‘We need someone to deliver our voices’: Reflections from conducting remote qualitative research in Syria. Conflict and Health 15: 28. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Duffy, Maureen, and Ronald J. Chenail. 2009. Values in Qualitative and Quantitative Research. Counseling and Values 53: 22–38. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Edgar, Don. 2004. Globalization and Western Bias in Family Sociology. In The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families. Edited by Jacqueline Scott, Judith Treas and Martin Richards. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., pp. 3–16. [Google Scholar]
- European Commission: Migration and Home Affairs. 2024. Resettlement and Other Pathways to Protection. Available online: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/legal-migration-resettlement-and-integration/resettlement-and-other-pathways-protection_en (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Eurostat. 2021. Population and Social Conditions [Dataset]. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Population_and_social_conditions (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Fennig, Maya, and Myriam Denov. 2021. Interpreters working in mental health settings with refugees: An interdisciplinary scoping review. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 91: 50–65. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Fogden, Georgia, David Berle, and Zachary Steel. 2020. The Impact of Family Separation and Worry About Family on Psychological Adjustment in Refugees Resettled in Australia. Journal of Traumatic Stress 33: 894–907. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Forget, Gilles, Ignacio Correa-Velez, and Mike Dee. 2019. Being a father in my new society: A qualitative study of the fathering experiences of men from refugee backgrounds resettled in Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies 32: 322–39. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gautam, Ramraj, Barbara E. Mawn, and Sarah Beehler. 2018. Bhutanese Older Adult Refugees Recently Resettled in the United States: A Better Life With Little Sorrows. Journal of Transcultural Nursing: Official Journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society 29: 165–71. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Georgiadou, Ekaterini, Gregor Martin Schmitt, and Yesim Erim. 2020. Does the separation from marital partners of Syrian refugees with a residence permit in Germany have an impact on their quality of life? Journal of Psychosomatic Research 130: 109936. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Golembe, Jasmine, Birgit Leyendecker, Nabil Maalej, Andrew Gundlach, and Julian Busch. 2021. Experiences of Minority Stress and Mental Health Burdens of Newly Arrived LGBTQ* Refugees in Germany. Sexuality Research and Social Policy 18: 1049–59. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hack-Polay, Dieu, Ali B. Mahmoud, Maria Kordowicz, Roda Madziva, and Charles Kivunja. 2021. “Let us define ourselves”: Forced migrants’ use of multiple identities as a tactic for social navigation. BMC Psychology 9: 125. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hampton, Kathryn, Elsa Raker, Hajar Habbach, Linda Camaj Deda, Michele Heisler, and Ranit Mishori. 2021. The psychological effects of forced family separation on asylum-seeking children and parents at the US-Mexico border: A qualitative analysis of medico-legal documents. PLoS ONE 16: e0259576. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Hiitola, Johanna. 2019. Locating Forced Migrants’ Resources: Residency Status and the Process of Family Reunification in Finland. Social Inclusion 7: 190–91. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hiitola, Johanna, Zeinab Karimi, and Johanna Leinonen. 2023. Navigating Affective (In)securities: Forced Migration and Transnational Family Relationships. In Forced Migration and Separated Families. Edited by Marja Tiilikainen, Johanna Hiitola, Abdirashid A. Ismail and Jaana Palander. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 183–200. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Home Office. 2023. Asylum and Resettlement Datasets. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets?utm_source=5e3ed194-9d10-4b25-8087-9e220e1ae650&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate#asylum-applications-decisions-and-resettlement (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Hvidtfeldt, Camilla, Jørgen Holm Petersen, and Marie Norredam. 2022. Waiting for family reunification and the risk of mental disorders among refugee fathers: A 24-year longitudinal cohort study from Denmark. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 57: 1061–72. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- International Organisation for Migration (IOM). 2019. International Migration Law: Glossary on Migration. Geneva: UN Migration. Available online: https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/iml_34_glossary.pdf (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Iosifides, Theodoros. 2020. Qualitative Methods in Migration Studies: A Critical Realist Perspective. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
- Kraus, Elisabeth K., Lenore Sauer, and Laura Wenzel. 2019. Together or apart? Spousal migration and reunification practices of recent refugees to Germany. Journal of Family Research 31: 303–32. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kristjánsdóttir, Erla S., and Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir. 2019. “I’ll Always Be a Refugee”: The Lived Experience of Palestinian Refugee Women of Moving to a Small Society in Iceland. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies 17: 389–404. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lee, Susan K., Cheryl R. Sulaiman-Hill, and Sandra C. Thompson. 2014. Overcoming language barriers in community-based research with refugee and migrant populations: Options for using bilingual workers. BMC International Health and Human Rights 14: 11. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- LeMaster, W. Joseph, Carissa L. Broadbridge, Mark A. Lumley, Judith E. Arnetz, Cynthia Arfken, Michael D. Fetters, Hikmet Jamil, Nnamdi Pole, and Bengt B. Arnetz. 2018. Acculturation and post-migration psychological symptoms among iraqi refugees: A path analysis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 88: 38–47. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Levy, Donald P. 2022. Patriarchy. In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 1st ed. Edited by George Ritzer. Hoboken: Wiley, pp. 1–4. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liddell, Belinda J., Nicole Batch, Sarah Hellyer, Marta Bulnes-Diez, Anjali Kamte, Christina Klassen, Joshua Wong, Yulisha Byrow, and Angela Nickerson. 2022. Understanding the effects of being separated from family on refugees in Australia: A qualitative study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 46: 647–53. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liddell, Belinda J., Yulisha Byrow, Meaghan O’Donnell, Vicki Mau, Nicole Batch, Tadgh McMahon, Richard Bryant, and Angela Nickerson. 2021. Mechanisms underlying the mental health impact of family separation on resettled refugees. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 55: 699–710. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lokot, Michelle. 2023. Gendered Family Dynamics, Waiting and Mobilities Across Borders: Syrian Refugees Navigating Displacement in Jordan. In Forced Migration and Separated Families. Edited by Marja Tiilikainen, Johanna Hiitola, Abdirashid A. Ismail and Jaana Palander. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 149–63. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Löbel, Lea-Maria. 2020. Family separation and refugee mental health—A network perspective. Social Networks 61: 20–33. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mangrio, Elisabeth, Elisabeth Carlson, and Slobodan Zdravkovic. 2020. Newly arrived refugee parents in Sweden and their experience of the resettlement process: A qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 48: 699–706. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Mangrio, Elisabeth, Slobodan Zdravkovic, and Elisabeth Carlson. 2019. Refugee Women’s Experience of the Resettlement Process: A Qualitative Study. BMC Women’s Health 19: 147. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Miller, Alexander, J. M. Hess, D. Bybee, and J. R. Goodkind. 2018. Understanding the mental health consequences of family separation for refugees: Implications for policy and practice. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 88: 26–37. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nickerson, Angela, Richard A. Bryant, Robert Brooks, Zachary Steel, Derrick Silove, and Jack Chen. 2011. The familial influence of loss and trauma on refugee mental health: A multilevel path analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress 24: 25–33. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Papadopoulos, Renos K., and Nikos Gionakis. 2018. The neglected complexities of refugee fathers. Psychotherapy and Politics International 16: e1438. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pollard, Teresa, and Natasha Howard. 2021. Mental healthcare for asylum-seekers and refugees residing in the United Kingdom: A scoping review of policies, barriers, and enablers. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 15: 60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- REACH, and Mixed Migration Platform. 2017. Separated Families: Who Stays, Who Goes and Why? Decision-Making and Its Consequences for Families Separated by Mixed Migration. Available online: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/mmp_report_separated_families_who_stays_who_goes_april_2017.pdf (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Refugee Council. 2024. Top Facts from the Latest Statistics on Refugees and People Seeking Asylum. Available online: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/information/refugee-asylum-facts/top-10-facts-about-refugees-and-people-seeking-asylum/#:~:text=A%20total%20of%2049%2C862%20people,when%2014%2C370%20people%20were%20granted (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Ritchie, Holly. 2019. Investigating Gender and Enterprise in “Fragile” Refugee Settings: The Use of Critical Realism to Explore Institutional Dynamics and Change. New York: SAGE Publications Ltd. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rowley, Lauren, Nicola Morant, and Cornelius Katona. 2020. Refugees Who Have Experienced Extreme Cruelty: A Qualitative Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing after Being Granted Leave to Remain in the UK. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies 18: 357–74. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Saltsman, Adam, and Nassim Majidi. 2021. Storytelling in Research with Refugees: On the Promise and Politics of Audibility and Visibility in Participatory Research in Contexts of Forced Migration. Journal of Refugee Studies 34: 2522–38. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Savic, Michael, Anna Chur-Hansen, Mohammad A. Mahmood, and Vivienne Moore. 2013. Separation from family and its impact on the mental health of Sudanese refugees in Australia: A qualitative study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 37: 383–88. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Schweitzer, Robert, Fritha Melville, Zachary Steel, and Philippe Lacherez. 2006. Trauma, Post-Migration Living Difficulties, and Social Support as Predictors of Psychological Adjustment in Resettled Sudanese Refugees. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 40: 179–87. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sim, Amanda, Eve Puffer, Afreen Ahmad, Lina Hammad, and Katholiki Georgiades. 2023. Resettlement, mental health, and coping: A mixed methods survey with recently resettled refugee parents in Canada. BMC Public Health 23: 386. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Singh, Shenuka, and Douglas R. Wassenaar. 2016. Contextualising the role of the gatekeeper in social science research. South African Journal of Bioethics and Law 9: 42–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Smith, Jonathan A., Michael Larkin, and Paul Flowers. 2022. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research, 2nd ed. New York: SAGE. [Google Scholar]
- Smith, Jonathan A., Paul Flowers, and Michael Larkin. 2009. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research, 1st ed. London: SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar]
- Tessitore, Francesca, and Giorgia Margherita. 2022. From struggle to hope: A gender-sensitive investigation on Nigerian male and female asylum seekers’ experiences. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community 50: 375–90. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tiilikainen, Marja, Johanna Hiitola, Abdirashid A. Ismail, and Jaana Palander, eds. 2023a. Forced Migration and Separated Families: Everyday Insecurities and Transnational Strategies. Cham: Springer International Publishing. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tiilikainen, Marja, Johanna Hiitola, Abdirashid A. Ismail, and Jaana Palander, eds. 2023b. From Forced Migration to the Forced Separation of Families. In Forced Migration and Separated Families. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 3–14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- The Human Rights Committee. 1990. General Comment No. 19: Protection of the Family, the Right to Marriage, and Equality of the Spouses (Art. 23). United Nations. Available online: https://www.refworld.org/legal/general/hrc/1990/en/38884 (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Tufford, Lea, and Peter Newman. 2012. Bracketing in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Social Work 11: 80–96. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- UK Government. 2022. ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme Launches. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-launches (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- UNHCR. 2010. Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Available online: https://www.unhcr.org/us/media/convention-and-protocol-relating-status-refugees (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- UNHCR. 2018. Impact of Separation on Refugees Families: Syrian Refugees in Jordan. Available online: https://www.unhcr.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2018/06/CH_Impact-of-Separation-on-Refugee-Families.pdf (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- UNHCR. 2025. UNHCR Recommendations to the UK Government. Available online: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/unhcr-recommendations-uk-government (accessed on 2 March 2025).
- Vitale, Agata, and Judy Ryde. 2018. Exploring risk factors affecting the mental health of refugee women living with HIV. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15: 2326. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wilmsen, Brooke. 2011. Family Separation: The Policies, Procedures, and Consequences for Refugee Background Families. Refugee Survey Quarterly 30: 44–64. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wilmsen, Brooke. 2013. Family separation and the impacts on refugee settlement in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues 48: 241–62. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wright, Ashley, Alexandra Reisig, and Breda Cullen. 2020. Efficacy and cultural adaptations of narrative exposure therapy for trauma-related outcomes in refugees/asylum-seekers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy 30: 301–14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ziersch, Anna, Emily Miller, Melanie Baak, and Lillian Mwanri. 2020. Integration and social determinants of health and wellbeing for people from refugee backgrounds resettled in a rural town in South Australia: A qualitative study. BMC Public Health 20: 1–16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Figure 1.
Flowchart of Participant Recruitment.
Table 1.
Overview of Participant Characteristics.
| Pseudonym | Origin | Age | Religion | Marital Status | Context of Separation | Contact | Reunification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahim | Bangladesh | 25–35 | Muslim | Married | Parents, siblings, wife | Yes | No |
| Doyo | Democratic Republic of Congo | 45–55 | Christian | Divorced | Parents, siblings | Yes | No |
| Bilal | Yemen | 25–35 | Muslim | Married | Wife, children | Yes | In process |
| Sham | Eritrea | 35–45 | Christian | Widowed | Children | No | No |
| Aslam | Afghanistan | 25–35 | Muslim | Single | Parents, siblings | No | No |
| Anjaan | Sri Lanka | 45–55 | Muslim | Married | Parents, siblings | Yes | Reunited |
| Maj | Sierra Leone | 25–35 | Muslim | Single | Parents, siblings | No | No |
| Dialogue | Cote D’ Ivoire | 45–55 | Christian | Widowed | Children | Yes | No |
| Paul | Cameroon | 25–35 | Christian | Married | Parents, siblings, wife, children | Yes | In process |
Table 2.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis multi-step process.
| Stage | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reading and re-reading the first transcript |
| 2 | Exploratory noting and close examination of semantic content in participant’ story |
| 3 | Developing experiential statements that consolidate complex meanings |
| 4 | Identifying connections across the experiential statements in line with the research question |
| 5 | Developing Personal Experiential Themes (PETs) for the transcript |
| 6 | Repeating the process with all interview transcripts |
| 7 | Developing Group Experiential Themes (GETs) across all participant interviews |
Table 3.
Summary of GETs and Subthemes.
| GETs | Subthemes |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Katsampa, D.; Curry, C.; Weldon, E.; Ghezai, H.; Nyikavaranda, P.; Stamatopoulou, V.; Chapman, D. Family Against the Odds: The Psychological Impact of Family Separation on Refugee Men Living in the United Kingdom. Soc. Sci. 2025, 14, 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030159
AMA Style
Katsampa D, Curry C, Weldon E, Ghezai H, Nyikavaranda P, Stamatopoulou V, Chapman D. Family Against the Odds: The Psychological Impact of Family Separation on Refugee Men Living in the United Kingdom. Social Sciences. 2025; 14(3):159. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030159
Chicago/Turabian StyleKatsampa, Dafni, Christina Curry, Ella Weldon, Haben Ghezai, Patrick Nyikavaranda, Vasiliki Stamatopoulou, and David Chapman. 2025. "Family Against the Odds: The Psychological Impact of Family Separation on Refugee Men Living in the United Kingdom" Social Sciences 14, no. 3: 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030159
APA StyleKatsampa, D., Curry, C., Weldon, E., Ghezai, H., Nyikavaranda, P., Stamatopoulou, V., & Chapman, D. (2025). Family Against the Odds: The Psychological Impact of Family Separation on Refugee Men Living in the United Kingdom. Social Sciences, 14(3), 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030159
Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.