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Eva Kaplan's avatar

This quote reminded me of some work we did in Jordan:

'“Worries about how you're seen and judged are the most important causes of chronic stress or trauma in health research.” It’s measurable. In experiments, people facing threats to their self-esteem or social status show sharp spikes in cortisol, while other tasks have little effect.'

We were looking at how behaviors, knowledge and attitudes were driving decision-making among refugees, and found that young refugees in particular prioritize their image and how they are perceived by others higher than almost anything else. Being perceived as a model citizen, both in appearance and behavior was a way to combat the shame that is associated with the label "refugee."

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MICHAEL J BRUWER Tucson's avatar

Thank you for the clear thinking, for sharing your process, and for your hard work.

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