Intergenerational conflict among resettled South Sudanese in Australia

Abstract

South Sudanese families have faced many hardships in the process of acculturation to Australian society. This has led to rapid family breakdown amongst refugees from South Sudan who live in Melbourne, Australia, and has created tension between families, the wider South Sudanese community, and authorities. This qualitative study explores how shifting dynamics of religious faith, the concept of family and cultural values impacts South Sudanese families and young people. The study consisted of 23 semi-structured interviews, three focus groups and two feedback forums, gathering data from South Sudanese youth aged 14 to 21 years, social workers, elders and parents from the South Sudanese community. Several themes were identified including the impact of intergenerational conflict, coping with new freedoms in Australia, the associated tensions these freedoms create within the South Sudanese community, and young people’s conflict with religion. The patriarchal system that underpins the family structure of the South Sudanese culture is under significant strain as women and children are becoming aware of their rights, resulting in friction between men and women, parents and children. Male elders believed the embracing of freedom by women and children was at the core of family breakdown, leading to cultural erosion, and was the root of the problems experienced by the youth. The church as a traditional meeting place and a centre point for social inclusion within the South Sudanese community remains relevant as an important factor in social networking for parents and elders but lacks relevance for many South Sudanese youth.

Keywords

South Sudanese youth intergenerational conflict mental health parental conflict Christian Church faith refugee social inclusion

Introduction

Background

The issue of global migration is far reaching, with over 281 million people migrating world-wide according to the International Migration 2020 highlights (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [UN DESA], 2020). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that of this number, 33.72 million are forced to migrate due to conflict, crises, persecution, human rights violations and climate-based disasters, with millions facing internal displacement (UN DESA, 2020). In total 17,112 refugees were resettled in Australia via the offshore pathway in 2018–19, including 2,947 vulnerable women and children (Department of Home Affairs, 2019). However, after the 2019 election, despite a pre-election promise to offer more places to women and children, there was a cap placed on refugee intake annually at 18,750 places (Greene, 2019). In 2020, the Federal Government announced it would reduce the annual refugee intake to 13,750 places as part of a COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan (Dutton & Tudge, 2020). It is within this context that over 30,000 South Sudanese have migrated to Australia over a 20-year period (1995–2015), due to the ongoing war and conflict in South Sudan (Losoncz, 2017).

South Sudan is a country that has been torn apart by decades of protracted civil conflict that began with the end of British colonisation in 1956 to recent times. Administrative control of the country was ceded to the Arabic community in the north, fuelling tensions between the southern based African Sudanese and the northern Arabic Sudanese, setting the stage for a war fought on religious and cultural ideology (Jok, 2007). After much negotiation, a peace accord was signed in 2005 (Lyman, 2013). A fragile peace remained and eventually led to an agreement for the north to allow the south to begin the process of self-determination. This led to a historic referendum, and the Republic of South Sudan became the world's newest country in July 2011 and the 54th country in Africa (Lyman, 2013).

In 2011, when South Sudan gained independence, there was a brief reprieve in conflict, but in 2013 civil conflict started in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan. There are approximately 50 ethnic groups within South Sudan, all diverse in culture, religion and language. Despite cooperation between the two largest tribes, the Dinka and Nuer, during their efforts to fight Sudan and gain independence, tribal tensions never truly abated (Redekop, 2007). Within days several hundred people had been killed and up to 20,000 people fled to the safety of the UN bases in Juba (The Economist, 2013). This quickly escalated into a civil war divided on tribal lines. Many people fled, sought refugee status, and were resettled in Australia where they are trying to recover from the trauma of forced migration. Many survivors of war and atrocity live for years in refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya. According to the latest figures, over 2.5 million South Sudanese are seeking refuge (UNHCR, 2018).

South Sudanese communities who settle in Western countries, such as the UK, Canada, the US and Australia, face many challenges. Youth and children struggle with the realities of living in a new culture and parents must adapt to new ways of parenting their children. Despite these difficulties, family is an essential element of the South Sudanese community and has an important place within the culture (Savic et al., 2013).

South Sudanese and Christianity

During British colonisation, Christianity was introduced by British Christian missionaries from both the Catholic and Protestant traditions, most notably Presbyterianism (Zink, 2017), which spread throughout the south of Sudan and stood as a self-proclaimed bastion against the Islamist north of Sudan. The civil war took on a religious tone, despite land, wealth and resources that were of much greater concern to the political powers (Jok, 2007). The conversion of the south to Christianity (in what became independent South Sudan in 2011) moulded with Nilotic spirituality and became so important within the community that priests and pastors were given special privileges (Burton, 1985). The proclamation of oneself as a Christian became an indicator of education and social status, as a result of the Church offering education programs; those who took part learnt to read and write in both English and their own tribal language (Zink, 2017). The Christian faith is deeply ingrained in South Sudanese culture despite being part of their culture for just under 100 years.

Many older South Sudanese believe they fought something of a holy war against the Islamic north, rendering their faith less of a personal spiritual experience and more a part of their sense of identity. Nonetheless, the Christian faith has been a uniting factor for the diverse cultures of the South Sudanese tribes (Khawaja et al., 2008). Religion has been an important aspect of coping and connection in adult South Sudanese populations in times of stress and adversity. Importantly, religion has been found to be a protective factor in regard to marginalised refugee youth (Adedoyin et al., 2016; Mohajer & Earnest, 2010).

Shifting parental dynamics

As emerging communities are resettled in new countries, networks and support systems that have existed for centuries struggle to survive the new culture (Mulholland et al., 2020). Culture shock and a disconnect from previously upheld values begin to erode as young members within a resettled community forego cultural norms and adapt to the host culture (Horn, 2010). Frustration and a sense of disorder occurs as the family paradigm shifts. This is felt more by the male family members, as the traditional patriarchal system is challenged by the new culture (Mulholland et al., 2020), and can lead to both physical violence (such as beatings and slapping) and emotional violence (such as community isolation) used against family members. Violence can escalate due to inherent issues in displaced communities; commonly the male traditional head and provider of the family feeling frustrated when he fails to gain employment and provide for his family. These are contributing factors to a sense of disconnection and loss of identity. Conflict between parents and a breakdown of the parents’ relationship impacts children and heightens intergenerational conflict (Mulholland et al., 2020).

Intergenerational conflict

Amongst refugee communities, intergenerational conflict is heightened due to differing cultural norms between the country of origin and the resettled country, and recovery from trauma that eventually occurs (Mulholland et al., 2020). Parents are placed at a disadvantage, as the appropriate parenting strategies that were implemented in the country of origin may not be appropriate in the new country (Mulholland et al., 2020). In Australia and many Western countries, parenting is individualistic, focusing on the child's individual needs, self-determination, self-autonomy and personal independence. Whereas parents from countries in Africa and other collectivist cultures have a very different parenting framework (Renzaho et al., 2017). Collectivist cultures value interdependency and conformity to rules and traditions, respect for authority, particularly within the family hierarchy, and towards community elders. Parental control is maintained through power, punishment and coercion; parents do not expect or value the contribution of the child in deciding their own future (Renzaho et al., 2017).

These differing parental styles, often result in increased stressors and pressures on young people to adapt to both cultures, adopting the host culture’s social and cultural norms despite the increasing pressure from their families and the South Sudanese community, and rejecting their culture of origin and creating conflict with their parents. As youth typically adapt to the cultural norms within the Australian context, often using their knowledge of the Australian legal system to stop the authoritarian disciplinary acts of their parents, they create a new power dynamic within the family setting that has a tremendous impact on how the family operates (Pittaway & Dantas, 2021b; Renzaho et al., 2017). As young people embrace Australian culture, they find that they are adopting multiple identities, often feeling that they don’t belong to either culture (Mwanri et al., 2017). The consequence of this intergenerational conflict is ongoing negative impacts on families, individuals and the entire community. Sadly, this has often resulted in some suicides and self-harm amongst young people from African backgrounds (Mwanri et al., 2017).

Aim of the study

This study aimed to examine the impact of intergenerational conflict within the South Sudanese community, focusing on youth and parental dynamics and the broader cultural and societal expectations of young people.

Methods

Study design

This study used qualitative methods and was undertaken with South Sudanese Australians in southeast Melbourne. Using an exploratory, qualitative case study approach in a real-world setting, the intent of this study was to give “voice” to South Sudanese youth. A case study approach was the methodology of choice as its main characteristics help convey the realities of participants’ experiences to the reader and is a method that can be widely employed across disciplines (Noor, 2008). There are several key components of a case study approach. First, it taps into the viewpoints of participants (South Sudanese youth and community members in Melbourne); second, it allows participants to describe their experiences in their own words. It is the preferred methodology when there is a need to “closely examine contemporary events” (Yin, 2014, p. 7).

The relativist ontological approach was used for the study, and in this approach there is the understanding that reality is a subjective experience linked to individuals, such that reality and human experience become one and the same as there are multiple individual experiences, so there are multiple realties for our participants and all of these were given equal importance and value by the authors (Levers, 2013).

The psychosocial conceptual framework

The Psychosocial framework underpinned this study (see Figure 1), as it allowed for themes to be explored through a holistic lens. This holistic lens focuses on the affected community and suggests that any problem an individual has impacts the community (The Psychosocial Working Group, 2003). Since 2003, this framework has been used extensively as a tool to analyse at risk communities especially from post-conflict settings. In this study, the three core domains of the psychosocial model: 1) Human Capacity, 2) Culture and Values, and 3) Social Ecology—together with the available Physical, Economic and Environmental resources, underpinned the alignment of themes identified by the interview analysis. These domains map the human (physical and mental well-being, the skills of people, and their livelihoods), social (relations within families, links with peer groups, religious, cultural, civic, and political institutions) and cultural (cultural values, may include religious and other traditions that stabilise and lend resilience to communities) capital available to people. These domains have validity as discrete “lenses” through which the impact on Physical, Economic and Environmental resources at the community level are considered. (Earnest et al., 2015; The Psychosocial Working Group, 2003).

Figure 1.

Psychosocial Intervention in Complex Emergencies: A Conceptual Framework. (The Psychosocial Working Group, 2003)

Study setting

The study was conducted out of a local outreach centre that was frequented by the participants.

All interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and community forums took place at a community centre familiar to the participants through previous outreach activities that they had engaged with at the centre. The first author's previous position as a community services manager who had worked extensively within the South Sudanese community, with both the young people and the parents in various capacities prior to undertaking the research, allowed access to the community. This perspective and connection allowed for an in-depth understanding of the complexities within the South Sudanese community and its cultural structure.

Procedure

Ethics approval

Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee at Curtin University (approval HR 139/2012). All participants were provided with a plain language summary explaining the study, were given the opportunity to ask questions about their participation, and subsequently signed a consent form. The parents of participants under 18 years were approached by the first author with a community elder to discuss the research and parental or guardian consent was obtained. All participants understood the purpose of the study and that they had the ability to withdraw their participation at any time. Each participant was given a pseudonym to ensure anonymity. Interviews were discontinued if a participant was distressed and a protocol was established for support should the need arise.

Participant recruitment

Purposive sampling was used until data saturation was met and there was an appropriate number of participants to collect data for the youth interviews (Kumar, 2005). There were 16 male and seven female participants, aged between 14 and 21 years. FGDs and community forums included community members and elders too.

The interviews

The interview questions were developed by the researcher who consulted a youth social worker who worked within the South Sudanese community, and two elders of the South Sudanese community to confirm appropriateness of the questions. The interview schedule consisted of 15 open-ended questions using an interview guide. The questions examined participants’ background history, experiences living in Australia, family dynamics, mental health and coping strategies. All interviews were an hour or longer and conducted by the first author. As all the participants had a high level of English language proficiency, the interviews were conducted in English without the use of an interpreter.

The focus groups discussions

There were two focus groups made up of the initial participants, one for women and one for men and a third focus group was a collection of 11 parents and elders who were invited through established community connections at the centre. A focus group with five community elders and an interview with a local youth worker, who worked exclusively with South Sudanese youth, were conducted to confirm and validate the themes that emerged from the research.

Data analysis

The interviews and FGDs were audio recorded and were transcribed verbatim. Using the process described by Clarke and Braun (2013), the data was analysed using a latent approach which identified and examined underlying ideas, and conceptualisations that informed the meanings of the interview data (Clarke & Braun, 2013). Thematic analysis of interviews was undertaken to enable identification of patterns drawn from the interviews. The process commenced with the verbatim transcription of interview and focus group audio files. The transcripts were read and re-read, notes were made, and initial codes were ascribed to meanings identified from the interviews (Hinton et al., 2010). The data were coded using NVivo software to support the thematic content analysis. The themes were then linked to the three domains of the psychosocial framework.

Presentation of results at community forums

After the data was analysed, the results were presented at two forums consisting of South Sudanese community elders and parents, who provided feedback on the emerging themes of the study. These forums were conducted with the support of the local South Sudanese community and were attended by stakeholders of the South Sudanese community, elders, youth, social workers and parents. The forums were used as part of member checking to share the results and recommendations from the research and to determine whether the findings were accurate and to support validity and credibility of the findings.

Trustworthiness of the study relied on rigour in qualitative research. This was assessed through pilot testing of interview questions for refinement and finalisation of the results (Rogers et al., 2019). The trustworthiness was also maintained through constant review and interpretation of the data by the authors (Cohen & Crabtree, 2008; Graneheim & Lundman, 2004). An audit trail documented the study design, methods, and analysis to allow for replication of the study (Birt et al., 2016; Malterud, 2001; Rodgers & Cowles, 1993).

Results

The research included 23 semi-structured interviews, three focus groups, one with seven female youth, one with 16 male youth and the third with 11 elders and parents of the participants. This was followed by two community feedback forums exploring the themes of the data analysis. The first forum had 65 participants; the second forum had 47 participants.

Demographic details of the participants

Table 1 outlines a detailed description of the participants, including age, gender and ethnicity. The majority of the participants (15) were in the age group of 14 to 17 years and had experienced conflict, loss and significant displacement in South Sudan. The youth had spent time in refugee camps in Kenya (10), Egypt (8) and Uganda (3). Most belonged to the Nuer tribe and lived in households of nine to 11 members in Melbourne. The majority of the participants were in high school.

Table 1.

Demographic details of youth participants (N = 23).

Demographic characteristics	Number of participants
Age (Years)
14–17	15
18–21	8
Country education started
Australia	1
Kenya	10
Egypt	8
Uganda	3
Sudan	1
Gender
Male	16
Female	7
Location prior to arrival in Australia
South Sudan	2
Kenya: refugee camp	10
Egypt: urban refugee	8
Uganda: urban refugee	3
Education & Employment
High School student	15
TAFE student	5
University student	2
Unemployed	1
Living arrangements (number of residents per house)
6–8	7
9–11	13
12 or more	3
Tribal identity
Nuer	18
Dinka, Shilluk, Bari, Murle	5

Themes drawn from the analysis were underpinned by the psychosocial framework and aligned to the three domains of the framework. Each of the themes is presented below and supported by quotes from the South Sudanese youth themselves. This meant that the youth’ voices were presented through the analysis (see Table 2).

Table 2.

Themes drawn from the analysis aligned to the domains of the Psychosocial framework.

Psychosocial domains	Themes
Human capacity	Perceived impact of freedom on parents
	Perceived impact of freedom on youth
Social ecology	The role of church in strengthening community
Culture and values	Community attitudes towards faith
	Faith as a cultural burden

Human capacity

Perceived impact of freedom on parents

The sense of freedom that the Australian culture provided was a significant issue of concern for the men (who were husbands and fathers) within the South Sudanese community in this study. Their reasoning was related to the breakdown of marriages and families as a result of women deciding to leave their marriage. The following quote comes from a woman who no longer feels like she needs to stay in her marriage due to the freedoms she has living in Australia:

I have a car and a house. I have job and money. What for I need a man? Man, just cause problems, I don’t need it. I am happy. I married at 12. Too young, I have children and now I look after myself. (Mother)

The women felt that they were adjusting to a change in culture more easily than the men, whereas the men felt there was injustice in the cultural shift because their previous status had been undermined in Australia. A culture shift towards self-determination and greater freedom is a cause of family stress, as they try to find balance with their South Sudanese cultural norms and traditions.

This study revealed there were concerns that freedom experienced by women was not only impacting their marriages with the changing role of wives, but also as mothers. This was reported by several youth, some of whom had experienced their mothers handing all of the parental duties to the eldest children in the family. For example, mothers would take the children and leave their marriage, then leave the older children to organise the family and the household while they would socialise with their friends.

It happens too much, like my mum left dad, he couldn’t get work and she had money now. I have 4 younger brothers and sisters, like babies, and now mum goes out and leaves me to look after them. She goes to friends, she goes to big community parties, she just thinks I should do it. I have to clean and cook for them. If dad was around he would make her, do it, now he's not here, she doesn’t care and I have to do it. This happens to a lot of my friends too. (Female youth)

Perceived impact of freedom on youth

A concern repeated often by the parents and elders in this study, was how the culture of Australia impacted their children, limiting their parental control and alienating the young people from their culture of origin. The ability for young people to have access to services that gave them support, and their own bank accounts and access to money, meant they did not need to be reliant on family. The youth could then move away from the family to make their own decisions or, more commonly, stay in the family home without contributing or following rules and traditions the parents expected of them:

This country has problems. In our countries no, we just pray, pray for food. God give us food for tomorrow, we don’t have food. We come to this country, when we come, they find the culture. When the mother tells you no, you can’t do it, they get their own money from the Centrelink and do it anyway. If the mother hits you when you’re bad, you go to child protection. (Elder)

Such behaviour was far more common amongst male youth; female youth were unlikely to disobey their parents and would often take on the role of taking care of younger siblings. Several parents and youth discussed the perceived increasing number of teenage pregnancies in the community. The traditional marriage, a ritualised practice that involves the whole community and can be drawn out and reliant upon older siblings being married first is rejected by many young women. Instead, a common practice is to deliberately get pregnant by a boyfriend, and move in with the boyfriend's family while pregnant, then move back to the female's home once the child is born, essentially being married within the eyes of the community by default. Families, particularly the girl's father, feel a significant amount of shame when this happens, however, as this situation becomes more common, shame is short lived, and families adapt to the new reality:

Here the boyfriend and girlfriend move into the house together. This is ok in Australia. For us, no, this is not good. But it happens, so we can do nothing, or not see our kids. We tell our kids don’t get pregnant. But what can we do? This is not good. (Parent)

The problems arising within the South Sudanese community left many parents and elders feeling helpless. However, the overwhelming and passionate response from many of the young people was that the elders and parents did not listen to them, did not understand parenting in the context of Australian culture, and wilfully stood back from their parental obligations:

They always blame us. The media blames us, the government blames us and our own community blames us. But it isn’t us, it is them. Our parents and elders have abandoned us. they blame the young people. We are a result of how we are treated at home, how we are raised, how we are abandoned and expected to do so much. They keep saying they don’t know what to do. Well, don’t leave your children to be looked after by other young children, don’t go to parties, don’t take our money and spend it on clothes and jewellery to compete with other parents, don’t waste money on things that don’t matter, listen to us, talk to us, support us at school and at our sports and with our friends. Don’t leave us to fend for ourselves. Don’t keep making excuses for your poor behaviour. And most importantly, don’t lay the blame of this community breakdown at our feet, we are the result of your mistakes. (Male youth)

Cultures and values

Community attitudes towards faith

Families stated the importance of God as the reason for their safe arrival in Australia and that they had the capacity to deal with difficult circumstances because they were protected by God. The reality of the fragility of life, the awareness of friends and family who had been killed or who had died during migration, affirmed this sense of protection:

Yeah, I’m Christian, but more for my mum, it’s important for her that I’m Christian, it’s my culture. Where we come from it was very hard, when we woke up, we didn’t have food, we weren’t safe. My mum told me that God’s gonna protect us. My mum she says that [crying] sorry, God is the one who brought us here and like I know that… he brings us here because all these things happening, I could have been dead and my mum could have been dead and God brought us here and he is protecting us [crying]. (Female youth)

Faith is an important part of the identity of many of the South Sudanese elders. Despite their experiences of the forced migration, escaping war, living in refugee camps, separation from family members—they attribute their improved circumstances of resettlement in Australia to God. This was commonly reported among the parents and elders within the focus groups, who spoke of God as the reason for being able to settle in Australia and their children being safe. Belief in the protection that God provides was passed on to the children who were aware of how their parents viewed the passage from Africa to Australia:

I came with 11 kids when I went to English language school and they told me why you are a very happy lady … and I say I am very happy because God brought me to Australia and I have food, I have money and I have everything, what for I be depressed. I am happy because God, he give me what I need. (Parent)

Faith as a cultural burden

This belief was an important coping strategy for the family to overcome the trauma of the forced migration experience. In the view of the parents, God had allowed them to come to a new and free country with opportunities and had chosen their children to survive this journey because they had a special purpose. They had essentially been given a gift from God and young people should not squander that gift. This purpose would often relate to future nation building of South Sudan or being able to provide for the parents into old age:

You know they must go to get the job, when they get the job, they can buy the car and relax and happy, and get married. Go to university. Be a doctor, a lawyer, then I have money I have no problem. (Parent)

The solution now is in education, this is the big one. We, mother, we never go to school because in my country you grow up, you are 14 years old and get married. But our kids are lucky, they are born in cities, they go to school, they learn Arabic. They come to Australia and learn English and have opportunity to do anything. (Parent)

It was common for parents to have high expectations for their child’s education, however, the same faith that gave parents hope, was now focused on their children being successful, without regard for the challenges and barriers that young people face. From the perspective of the parents, what they had encountered getting to Australia through the forced migration process made any barriers standing in their children's way insignificant in contrast. The strong spiritual overtones of these expectations added a certainty to the parents’ views and were seen by many of the young people as oppressive and impossible to live up to. They felt shame and guilt if they were unable to meet the standards, compounded by a desire to make their own choices for their lives:

All Sudanese parents want their kids to be lawyers or doctors and architects to earn money and buy a house for them. They think it’s easy, you just have to want to do it. University is hard work, I don’t think I will be able to do it, but I have to. My mum doesn’t want to do anything else for me because she said she carried me on her back across the desert to get here, so now I have to look after the family, that God wants me to be that. It’s hard. I can’t really handle it, I just wanna play basketball, you know? (Male youth)

Social ecology

The role of church in strengthening community

This study highlighted the significant importance given by parents and elders of the South Sudanese community to going to church and remaining connected to the wider South Sudanese community. Church attendance by young people gradually declined as they got older and they challenged their parents’ expectation of church attendance. The abundance of choice and freedoms in Australia were the factors blamed for turning away from church. The focus groups revealed a desperation to understand the mindset of the young people and a sense of hopelessness in trying to reconnect them to the church and their culture. The elders spoke of the lack of literacy in their language, many young people could speak in Nuer, but couldn’t read or write it, raising fears that their language would be lost within a generation:

The kids, they have culture shock. They come from Africa with nothing, here they see everything. We want them to be in the community to come to church to study and work. They want to play and do what they want. No church. No God. No education. They don’t belong in Aussie culture and they forget Sudanese culture, they don’t have nothing now. They need the church. (Elder)

The diminishing relevance of faith

The overwhelming response by the young people was that the longer they were part of Australian culture, the less they needed faith. The relative safety and abundance of living in Australia took away the need to pray for the next meal; other entertainment and community activities meant they no longer needed to look to the church as the focus of their social experiences. Many of the young people expressed an apathy towards faith although they believed in Christian values:

I believe a little bit, but not like one hundred percent compared to my mum, but when I am in trouble, I pray for things to get better. (Male youth)

It’s something that I am and yeah, my whole generation being in the family is Christian, but I kinda stopped going to the church. (Male youth)

The young people spoke of family pressure to be successful because God was said to have provided the opportunity to do so. They felt resentful towards their parents for this association, and viewed their parents’ churchgoing as hypocritical, a show put on for the benefit of the community to enhance their family’s reputation. Rather than seeing church as an important tool for social cohesion and cultural stability, there was a sense that church was about status for the parents:

They only go to church ‘cause they care about what people think about them, they don’t wanna bad name in the community, if you don’t go to church, something might be wrong with you and people talk. Like back in Africa, everyone knows you, all the neighbours, and then they were your family and it didn’t matter the whole community got together, but now it’s like competition so it’s like whose house looks the best, who has the best car? Whose kids are graduated from high school? Or whose daughters are not pregnant yet? (Female youth)

Discussion

The aim of this study was to explore the dynamics of intergenerational conflict within South Sudanese families who had resettled in Australia. The results identified conflict between parents of the children and how the young people navigated the Australian culture while also living within the traditional culture that their parents wanted them to be part of. Finally, the study looked at Christian faith and church which provided cultural and social cohesion, and how this had altered due to intergenerational conflict and changed cultural values.

The results document that there are many complex dynamics that demonstrate how the stressors evolve in families due to the migration and acculturation process (Mulholland et al., 2020). Many of the stressors that were expressed in this study were reflective of the disconnect in parenting styles between collectivistic and individualistic cultures, which led to miscommunication and distrust, leading to family breakdown. Concepts of freedom for both the young people and the wives, who had existed under a patriarchal system, created friction and conflict in families (Pittaway & Dantas, 2021a).

An emerging theme from the study was the tension created by the rights provided to women in Australia: a woman's newfound freedoms created tensions within the marriage, often due to the inability of the male to adjust to the new cultural norms (Milos, 2011). The lack of consensus between young people and elders about the root of the problems within their community, and the negative feedback from many of the youth about parental involvement in their lives, indicates a need for parental education programs that work alongside parents and elders to inform them of their rights and responsibilities in Australia.

Freedom was described by one of the male participants as a “culture shock”, and created tension between husband and wife, and mother and children (Pittaway & Dantas, 2021a). Many of the women realised that they do not need to rely on a man for financial help and that they could essentially do what they liked and were no longer bound by traditional notions of motherhood as raising children, cleaning and cooking, leading to them embracing shopping and socialising. Despite this newfound empowerment, the impact of this was felt by many female youths in the interviews, who spoke with distress about their mothers leaving them with care of their siblings including babies and toddlers. They could never question their mother about this as it was disrespectful to question a parent's action.

At the centre of this cultural shift is the connection provided by the Christian faith for the South Sudanese community to improve tribal differences and celebrate their culture as a community. There was a clear awareness of how identification as a Christian unites all tribes, inspiring a sense of hope that, despite the civil unrest in South Sudan, faith will overcome and bring the nation together (Shandy, 2002). An important aspect of Christian identity is connection with the wider Australian Church, and access to resources and established networks, which facilitate improved social inclusion and successful integration into the local culture (Falge, 2013; Shandy, 2002).

The Christian faith and local church have been an important meeting point for many within the South Sudanese community and there is no expectation of regular weekly church attendance. Once a month there is a gathering of all churches in South East Melbourne, predominantly Nuer churches and Dinka churches, only meeting together on special occasions. These monthly events attract several thousand community members. The church has become a place of connection to culture on a large scale; it is where the tribal language is spoken, the Bible read in the tribal language and with traditional African church hymns. The structure of South Sudanese Christian communities is an important area for further research as the Christian faith is an important facilitator for the development of social networks and contributes to the overall adjustment of South Sudanese diaspora communities in Australia.

Although limited in scope and requiring further research, studies have suggested a correlation between positive acculturation experiences, particularly in education, and faith for refugee youth (Barrett, 2009). Church-provided activities for youth, such as sport, drop-in centres and after school education, have been effective in improving social capital, improving educational outcomes, providing positive role models, and creating an aspirational and supportive environment and also providing a sense of belonging and opportunities for friendships (Pittaway & Dantas, 2022; Wilkinson et al., 2017). Many youths still attend church activities, particularly the drop-in centre and various sporting activities, but did not engage with the church in the way their parents hoped for.

Research strengths & limitations

A strength of this research was the connection that the first author had to the South Sudanese community, allowing for access that would otherwise be difficult to attain. The community of South East Melbourne was also highly supportive of the research. A limitation was the lack of diversity of South Sudanese tribes in the research. The vast majority of the participants were Nuer, who represent the second largest tribe.

Conclusion, implications and recommendations

Research has shown a connection between faith and positive outcomes for refugee youth. It would be valuable for local churches to engage with South Sudanese in their community. It is important that the church provide educational, sporting, faith-based and youth group activities that engage the youth and provide them with what they are saying they need (Pittaway & Dantas, 2022; Wilkinson et al., 2017). The implications of the wider Christian Church on the wellbeing of South Sudanese youth, the continued health of the family, and the ability for the South Sudanese to retain their cultural identity all emerged as critical themes in this study. Some suggestions were for parental skills courses to be made available in a culturally sensitive way, preferably facilitated by South Sudanese facilitators with youth connections, such as a social worker or youth worker. Further research is needed into the impacts of the refugee experience on the psychological and spiritual well-being of the South Sudanese and other refugee populations, and the role that local churches can have on preservation of cultural identity.

There needs to be further research on the socio-economic impacts of the intergenerational conflict of the South Sudanese community and other immigrant communities. The reason for communities fragmenting is viewed as related to the freedoms offered by the culture of host societies. This view needs to be examined not only in terms of choice but also in terms of socio-economic supports that allow family members to reduce their dependency on male family members . It is worthwhile to research the safeguards offered by the socio-economic safety net to women and their children, as opposed to the safeguards of a traditional society. Further research to better understand why some women stay in traditional patriarchal and religious structures and whether this affords stability to the next generation is needed.

The shift in fundamental aspects of South Sudanese culture is of concern to elders and parents of the community. The study showed that parents, elders and youth are negotiating their way between traditional Sudanese culture, and the Australian cultures. The outcome of this has been a breakdown of family structure, separation of parents, intergenerational conflict between youth and their parents, and a general sense of loss and confusion about what is happening and how it will impact the community in the long term. The men strive to find a place in a world where they no longer assume total control; the women struggle to balance freedom with responsibilities; and the youth watch as their parents navigate these complex issues and push back at what they see as a demand by their parents to conform to the old ways when they (the youth) no longer adhere to traditional values.

The Church offers the South Sudanese community a central meeting point, becoming a source of hope, empowerment and social connection and gives their children and youth an opportunity to be exposed to traditional culture. While many of the young people are moving away from the traditional notion of church, they remain connected when the church offers activities that are engaging and meet their needs. Despite the intergenerational tensions, there remains a strong sense of community and family connection, a curiosity to learn about traditional culture, and a desire to listen and understand each other.

Footnotes

Authors’ contributions

TP & JD made contributions to the design and conception of the study. JD and ER contributed to the critical revision of the content of the research, analysis, drafts of the article and gave final approval for review. TP undertook data collection, analysis and interpretation of the data. TP designed and drafted the manuscript and JD and ER reviewed and have seen the final draft of the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge and thanks the study participants including Community Elders who participated in and supported the study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Disclosure statement

The corresponding author worked as a program manager of a community organisation in Melbourne, which engaged in outreach work with some of the participants.

Consent for publication

All data was obtained with the consent of the participants involved in the study with ethics-approved consent forms and results were shared in community forums

Availability of data and material

The data used and analysed for this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

ORCID iDs

Troy Pittaway

Jaya A. R. Dantas

Troy Pittaway has a Master’s in Human Rights Law, a Graduate Diploma in International Health and a Graduate Certificate in Alcohol and Drugs. He is completing his PhD at the Curtin School of Population Health at Curtin University in Western Australia. Mr Pittaway’s research examined the coping strategies and wellbeing of South Sudanese Australian youth. He is currently a lecturer at Stotts College in Melbourne teaching units in alcohol and other drug studies, mental health, and sociology in the Bachelor of Community Services degree. Formerly Mr Pittaway worked in the community services sector for 20 years as a practitioner in multiple roles ranging from clinical settings to senior management. His published works focus on acculturation stressors and coping strategies of South Sudanese refugee youth in Melbourne, Australia.

Elisha Riggs is a Senior Research Fellow in the Intergenerational Health Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and Honorary Fellow in the Department of General Practice at The University of Melbourne. She co-leads the Refugee and Migrant Research program at MCRI and is Co-Director of the Stronger Futures NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence. Associate Professor Riggs is a public health and health services researcher with expertise in the co-design and evaluation of public health interventions informed by community and service engagement. Collaborative and participatory approaches to research and knowledge exchange underpin her work to understand and address inequalities and promote health and social equity.

Jaya Dantas is Deputy Chair of the Academic Board, Professor in the Curtin School of Population Health and Dean International in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University, Western Australia. Since 2018, she has led the faculty global portfolio and previously held the Director of Graduate Research role. Professor Dantas leads a program of research in refugee and migrant health, teaches in the MPH program and is an experienced PhD supervisor. In her 34-year career, she has worked in India, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Australia, received a National Award for University Teaching, is President of Australian Graduate Women, and has been a delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN. Having held leadership roles, she has a multidimensional lens on teaching, research, leadership, gender, and diversity.

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