Financial Challenges and Capacity among African Refugees in the Southern USA: A Study of Socio-demographic Differences

Kim, Youn Kyoung; Maleku, Arati; Lim, Younghee; Kagotho, Njeri; Scott, Jennifer; Ketchum, McKenzie M

Refugees’ successful integration into US society requires adaptation to economic, financial and social norms. Despite the importance of considering financial challenges (financial stress and financial anxiety) and financial capacity (financial literacy and financial self-efficacy) in reaching personal financial goals, literature examining the relationship between financial challenges and capacity—critical in refugee resettlement and integration—is sparse and fragmented. This study explored financial challenges and capacity amongst resettled African refugees (N = 130) in the southern USA using data from a larger community-based participatory research study that used a mixed-methods approach. We explored socio-demographic differences in financial stress, financial anxiety, financial literacy and financial self-efficacy across African refugee subpopulation groups. Our study highlights the importance of social work advocacy for data disaggregation, which helps establish the scope of the problem, unmask subpopulation differences and make vulnerable groups more visible to facilitate the development of tailored programmes and services to reach economic integration goals. We provide social work implications for data disaggregation in the current corona virus context, which will leave long-term financial scars on refugee subpopulations.