“There Is No Bad Bush To Throw a ‘Bad’ Child”: Liberian Refugee Parenting and Parent-Child Relationships Post-migration

Forced migration inherently raises caregiving stress and strains in parent-child relationships. The current phenomenological needs assessment was conducted to understand this unique adjustment experience within a long-term resettled Liberian community in the U.S. Semi-structured interviews with 20 key informants (e.g., community leaders, professional individuals and entities) and three focus groups with 20 Liberian community members sought to understand parenting and parent-child relationships within this community. Study results revealed three primary themes: culture and parenting norms, parenting strategies post-migration, and parenting supports. The results of this study support the acculturation gap-distress model: Liberian children often acculturated faster than their parents and these acculturation gaps created additional stressors for families. Findings suggest that families require longer-term financial support and other resources, community members (e.g., teachers, school administrators, social workers) would benefit from training in cultural differences, and culturally attuned therapy and parenting education could benefit families.