LAUSR

With more than 60 million people across the world displaced from their homes, the refugee crisis has been in the political limelight and prominent in academic conversations. With a focus on the salutogenic rather than the pathological effects of trauma, this research probed beyond refugees’ distressed psychological wellbeing by exploring contributory factors to refugees’ effective resettlement during the post-migration phase. In this small-scale study, participants were purposively selected. The mixed-methods approach led to the assessment of refugees’ post-traumatic growth and a qualitative investigation of their narrative writings on hope. Adopting a psychological lens, the article critically considers Charles Snyder’s theoretical framework on ‘hope’ and its tenets, namely ‘Goals’, ‘Pathways’, ‘Agency’, ‘Barriers’ and ‘Thoughts & Feelings’, by employing it freshly in a new context and extending the framework in light of refugees’ successful adaptation and integration into society. The research findings endorse the value of developing a hopeful disposition as key to refugees’ acculturation, empowerment and post-traumatic growth.