title: Refugee resettlement to the United States: recommendations for a new approach.
abstract: Hmong acculturation to the United States has involved high prevalence of several psychosocial challenges: acculturation failure, welfare dependency, psychiatric disorder, mistrust, malignant youth gangs, and violence. Conversely, resettlement of the Thai Dam-a tribal group, also from Laos-has gone remarkably well in comparison. Strategies used for resettlement of these two groups differed greatly. Based on these differences, the author recommends a refugee resettlement strategy aimed at improved mental health and optimal acculturation for future refugee groups.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. weste010@umn.edu
authors.forename: Joseph John
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Westermeyer
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D006801:Humans; D007812:Laos / Q000208:ethnology; D008603:Mental Health; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012940:Social Problems; D014481:United States