The impacts of war and displacement on individuals, families and communities are profound and far-reaching. The destruction of social networks is only one among myriad consequences, but one with reverberating implications for women that have not been adequately recognized or understood in research, policy or practice. This three-article dissertation thus examined the experiences of women shaped by war, displacement, and resettlement employing quantitative, qualitative and theoretical approaches. The aim of the first study was to further understanding of the relationship between social support, stigma, and mental health among women (n = 744) who experienced sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Regression and moderation analyses were conducted to examine associations. Emotional support seeking and felt stigma were positively associated with increased symptom severity of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Stigma modified associations between emotional support seeking and depression, and PTSD. Increased frequency of emotional support seeking was associated with higher mental health symptoms of anxiety and PTSD among women experiencing all levels of stigma. The purpose of the second study was to develop theory to explain how women (n = 27) who migrated from the DRC recreate social support post-resettlement in the United States. An interpretive approach layered with postcolonial feminist perspectives guided the qualitative grounded theory methodology. A theoretical model emerged explaining pivots in the internal lives of women, and their relationships to time, space, and self, as their social support constricted. The inquiry highlighted the extent to which resettlement, following war and displacement, is a life-altering event that sets into motion psychosocial processes with implications for wellbeing. The third and final component drew from postcolonial feminist and African diaspora theories to consider the impacts of forced migration on the internal and relational lives of women. Policy, practice, and research contribute to the framing of “refugees” as a static category of people irrespective of complex histories, geo-political origins, and fluid identities impacted by structural forces, and thus deny the subjective possibilities of women. This article suggests centering the subjectivities of women in research and practice.Social Wor
