Action responses of Congolese refugee women.
OBJECTIVE
To describe Congolese refugee women's action responses to difficult living situations.


METHODS
Interpretive qualitative.


METHODS
Narrative data were collected from 14 Congolese refugee women using minimally structured interviews and were analyzed for patterns in their responses to their difficult situations.


RESULTS
The narratives about participants' difficult circumstances indicated six action responses: refiguration, advocacy, resistance, resignation, sorrow, and faith.


CONCLUSIONS
When encountering difficult life circumstances, refugee participants demonstrated actions with varying influence on their agency.
Pavlish
Carol
C
College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN, USA. clpavlish@stkate.edu
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006117:Grief; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012432:Rwanda; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014480:United Nations; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*