Strong emotional bonds within families are foundational to children’s academic, psychological, and social development. While family cohesion is widely recognized as a protective factor across these domains, there remains a need to understand the specific mechanisms and interventions that foster such cohesion, particularly in diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts. This systematic review examines global evidence on factors influencing family cohesion and evaluates intervention strategies designed to strengthen familial relationships. Drawing on 41 peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2023, this review adheres to PRISMA guidelines and applies the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) to assess methodological quality. The findings are organized around four core dimensions of family cohesion—emotional bonding, adaptability, communication, and support—and highlight both common patterns and culturally specific mechanisms. Studies were drawn from a range of settings including North America, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, East and Southeast Asia, and Europe, enabling a cross-cultural analysis of how family cohesion operates under different social, cultural, and economic conditions. Intervention strategies are reviewed separately following the synthesis of correlations, with attention to their effectiveness, cultural relevance, and contextual adaptability. Community-based programs, trauma-informed therapies, and parenting interventions emerge as key approaches, though their success has varied by regional and structural context. Studies consistently demonstrate that higher family cohesion correlates with improved academic outcomes, as supportive home environments promote motivation, reduce stress, and enhance learning. Mental health benefits are also evident, with cohesive and adaptable families mitigating risks of anxiety and depression through open communication and emotional availability. Social competence is fostered through observed and practiced interpersonal skills within family settings. Socioeconomic status emerges as both a challenge and a moderating factor, with lower-SES families facing greater barriers to cohesion but also displaying notable resilience when supported through external interventions. Effective strategies identified include family therapy, parenting education, community-based programs, culturally sensitive approaches, and socioeconomic policy supports. Family cohesion and adaptability are critical to nurturing children’s academic success, emotional well-being, and social development. This review contributes to a more culturally nuanced and policy-relevant understanding of family cohesion by integrating empirical findings across global contexts and identifying both shared and differentiated pathways to resilience. The results inform future program design and suggest priorities for cross-cultural family research and intervention development.

Research on adolescent refugee resilience is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of adaptation to resettlement areas and integration into a new country. However, the current literature does not provide clear evidence on the determinants of resilience factors and the association between traumatic experiences and resilience among adolescent refugees. Four electronic databases were searched to identify relevant articles. Inclusion criteria for articles were (i) potential traumatic experience was the independent variable and resilience was an outcome variable of the study, (ii) association between traumatic experiences and resilience was reported, (iii) participants of the study included adolescent refugees or asylum seekers and (iv) to be peer-reviewed publications based on primary data, written in English and published between 1 January 2010 and 20 January 2022. Eight articles were included in this scoping review. The review found that most of the included studies identified individual, relational/family and contextual/cultural factors as determinants of resilience. However, there were inconsistencies in the association between traumatic experiences and resilience. This review suggests that intervention strategies implemented among adolescent refugees should focus on enhancing individual, family/relational, and cultural/social factors to protect adolescents from possible poor mental health consequences after exposure to trauma.

Background: Adolescent refugees may be uniquely impacted by potential traumatic experiences due to their incomplete bio-psychosocial and cognitive development, dependence, and underdeveloped coping skills. Despite this vulnerability, there is a lack of clarity in the literature on the coping strategies adolescent refugees employ following trauma exposure and how these strategies are associated with their adjustment. The objective of this scoping review was to systematically identify the types of coping strategies used by adolescent refugees and examine the associations between trauma exposure and coping mechanisms. Methods: A comprehensive search of four electronic databases (Ebsco Host, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) was conducted to identify relevant peer-reviewed articles. Inclusion criteria for studies were: 1) focused on the relationship between trauma and coping strategies was explicitly examined and discussed; 2) trauma was the primary predictor variable and the main focus of the study; 3) coping strategies were analyzed as outcome variables; 4) focused on adolescent refugees or asylum seekers aged 12–18 years as participants, including all genders; 5) articles were published in peer-reviewed journals between January 1, 2001, and June 20, 2021; 6) articles were written in English. Results: A total of 389 articles were identified as potentially relevant for the study, 6 articles were included in this scoping review. In total, 1694 participants were included across the included studies. Five included studies utilised a cross-sectional research design, and one study employed a case study. The review found that adolescent refugees mostly employed emotion-focused, avoidant and social support/ support-seeking coping strategies among the participants of the included studies. The majority of the included studies showed that traumatic experiences are more strongly associated with emotion-focused, avoidant and social support coping strategies than active and problem-focused strategies across diverse adolescent refugee populations. Avoidant-coping strategy was associated with maladjustment in young refugees. Conclusions: This scoping review suggests that future efforts should focus on equipping adolescent refugees with problem-solving and active coping strategies while addressing their psychosocial, cultural, and educational challenges to foster resilience and positive adjustment.

Background: Refugees often experience multiple traumatic events due to persecution, conflict, and displacement, which can result in poor mental health outcomes. Objective: The current study examined whether coping and resilience mediate the relationship between traumatic experience(s) and mental health outcomes and whether these indirect effects were moderated by age, gender, and refugee camp duration. Method: A cross-sectional, correlational study design was employed. Data were collected from 14 July 2019 to 28 August 2019. A sample of 414 adolescent refugees from two refugee camps in the Gambella regional state of Ethiopia were selected using proportional stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire. Data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling for hypotheses testing causal models. Results: Coping and resilience fully mediated the relationship between traumatic experience and mental health among adolescent refugees. Refugee camp duration as a moderator factor weakens the positive relationship between traumatic experiences and mental health outcomes. Conclusions: This study highlights the critical importance of comprehensive intervention strategies that strengthen adolescent refugee personal, family, social, and community level coping and resilience abilities within refugee camps setting. The findings also strongly suggested that early intervention in refugee camps could protect adolescent refugees from possible psychological distress and maintain adolescents’ mental health and well-being within refugee camps.