Mental health status among Burmese adolescent students living in boarding houses in Thailand: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundIn Tak province of Thailand, a number of adolescent students who migrated from Burma have resided in the boarding houses of migrant schools. This study investigated mental health status and its relationship with perceived social support among such students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study surveyed 428 students, aged 12–18 years, who lived in boarding houses. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL)-37 A, Stressful Life Events (SLE) and Reactions of Adolescents to Traumatic Stress (RATS) questionnaires were used to assess participants’ mental health status and experience of traumatic events. The Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey Scale was used to measure their perceived level of social support. Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the distribution of sociodemographic characteristics, trauma experiences, and mental health status. Further, multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between such characteristics and participants’ mental health status.ResultsIn total, 771 students were invited to participate in the study and 428 students chose to take part. Of these students, 304 completed the questionnaire. A large proportion (62.8%) indicated that both of their parents lived in Myanmar, while only 11.8% answered that both of their parents lived in Thailand. The mean total number of traumatic events experienced was 5.7 (standard deviation [SD] 2.9), mean total score on the HSCL-37A was 63.1 (SD 11.4), and mean total score on the RATS was 41.4 (SD 9.9). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that higher number of traumatic events was associated with more mental health problems.ConclusionsMany students residing in boarding houses suffered from poor mental health in Thailand’s Tak province. The number of traumatic experiences reported was higher than expected. Furthermore, these traumatic experiences were associated with poorer mental health status. Rather than making a generalized assumption on the mental health status of migrants or refugees, more detailed observation is necessary to elucidate the unique nature and vulnerabilities of this mobile population.

Descriptive Characterization of Psycho-Trauma, Psychological Distress, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder among Children and Adolescent Internally Displaced Persons in Kaduna, Nigeria

“…This result is consistent with the findings of higher rates of depression and anxiety among Burmese adolescents students exposed to psycho-trauma in Thailand (14). This is despite male participants having been exposed to more psycho-trauma overall compared with females.…”

“…The HSCL used for this study may have picked more distress in females solely because females were more likely to express distressing feelings than males (23). Reports of sexual harassments and been forced to have sex were by male children/adolescent IDPs; this is similar to the findings among traumatized Burmese adolescent where males reported more sexual harassment/abuse (14). This finding could be an under reporting or total lack of reporting (as in this case) of sexual assault by females due to the culturally sensitive nature of disclosing sexual harassment in Northern Nigeria.…”

“…Two previous studies with larger sample size than this study found mean scores of 56.9 and 63.1 for HSCL and 39.3 and 41.4 for RATS (14, 17). This suggests the children and adolescent IDPs in this study had less psychological distress than those of the two previous studies.…”

“…We used the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist 37 for Adolescents (HSCL-37A) to measure psychological distress associated with trauma in the participants. The HSCL-37A is a modification of the well-known HSCL-25 and assesses symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems that have been associated with reactions to trauma (14). It is measured on a four-point Likert scale and scored from 37 to 148.…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Depressive Reaction among Resident Survivors after the Tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake, March 11, 2011

“…Moreover, recent research demonstrated that social ties reduced depression symptoms following the disasters of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan [17] and the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City [18] . In contrast, Akiyama et al showed that perceived social ties did not significantly affect the prevalence of depression or anxiety among Burmese refugee students living in boarding houses in Thailand [19] . To date, information on the social contexts of resident survivors after a tsunami has been scant, and how social ties affect the mental health of these individuals when vital community links have been severely devastated remains largely unknown.…”