Establishing the feasibility of assessing the mental health of children displaced by the Syrian conflict

Abstract

Background.In the humanitarian crisis context of conflict zones, collecting data is essential for identifying and addressing the mental health needs of refugee children to avoid mass suffering. This study tested the feasibility of recruiting refugees caring for children and using established and brief parent-report questionnaires in a challenging context to collect mental health data on refugee children displaced by Syria's conflict.Methods.Caregivers of 4–10-year olds attending primary schools run by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Generation Freedom in and near refugee camps on the Syrian–Turkish border were invited to complete the Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale (PEDS) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).Results.It was possible to reach 144 adult refugees caring for children with research participation information and use informed consent procedures. A total of 106 caregivers completed the questionnaires yielding a good return rate (74%). Eighty-two (77.4%) caregivers had complete data on the PEDS and 61 (57.5%) on the SDQ. Almost half (49%) of the children met the clinical cut-off for being anxious/withdrawn and 62% for being fearful rated using the PEDS and 45% for SDQ rated emotional symptoms. More than a third had clinical levels of behavioural problems on both scales.Conclusions.It proved feasible to collect child mental health data in challenging conditions in the context of the Syrian crisis with support from a local NGO providing humanitarian assistance. The PEDS performed better than the SDQ in this context. High levels of emotional distress and behavioural problems in children reiterate the urgent need for evidence-based psychosocial support.

Caregiving for children through conflict and displacement: a pilot study testing the feasibility of delivering and evaluating a light touch parenting intervention for caregivers in the West Bank

“…The intervention has been designed specifically to build parenting confidence and self‐regulatory skills and enhance child and family psychological well‐being. The intervention is based on evidence‐based family and parenting strategies drawn from the parenting literature and tailored to the context of families living through conflict and displacement using the findings from the developers' research and humanitarian organisation mental health and psychosocial assessments (Cartwright, El‐Khani, Subryan, & Calam, ; El‐Khani, Ulph, et al, ; Kaminski et al, ; UNODC, ). The intervention requires no formal in‐person training and a detailed accompanying document details guidance on how the intervention should be run with caregivers.…”

Strengthening mental health care systems for Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East: integrating scalable psychological interventions in eight countries

“…Although good epidemiological data on psychosis is lacking, it is also likely that psychotic symptoms in Syrians have increased (Hassan et al, 2016; Hijazi & Weissbecker, 2015). Child refugees may be especially at risk of developing emotional and behavioural problems, with one study of Syrian refugee children in Turkey reporting that nearly half show clinically significant levels of anxiety and withdrawal (Cartwright, El-Khani, Subryan, & Calam, 2015). …”

Strong Families: A new family skills training programme for challenged and humanitarian settings: a single-arm intervention tested in Afghanistan

“…Children living in such humanitarian settings are at greater risk of different vulnerabilities including showing signs of mental health difficulties or behavioural problems. 1,2 This represents a long-term risk as many mental health problems begin in youth and are related to other poor health and developmental outcomes, such as violence, lower educational achievement and substance abuse. 3,4 Further to the aforementioned direct impact on children, social inequalities resulting from political conflict such as family instability or security, poor caregiver mental health due to prolonged periods of stress further exacerbate the vulnerability faced by the children.…”