Same, But Different

The effects of war, displacement, and trauma on child development

“…In 2017 and 2018, Syrian migration to the U.S. steeply decreased due to new travel bans targeting mainly Muslim countries, whilst migration from Northern and Western Europe was prioritized. This limited Syrian refugees' possibility of family reunification, the main channel for migration in the U.S. (Ugurel Kamisli, 2021;Zong, 2015). However, these bans were revoked in 2021 (The White House, 2021).…”

“…Commonly lived stressors among Syrian refugee families during the postmigration phase are obstacles or delays in processing refugee applications, uncertainty regarding legal status, fear of being forced to return to a still unsafe environment (i.e., Syria), difficulties finding employment, fear for relatives who stayed behind, loss of status (Safdar et al, 2021;von Haumeder et al, 2019), lack of medical care or non-accessible healthcare services (Kazour et al, 2017; for general refugee population see further: World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe, 2018), language and communication difficulties, obstacles with educational accreditation, changing family dynamics, changes in identity and role confusion, lack of social support, loneliness and boredom, and increased family conflicts (DeJong et al, 2017;Tinghög et al, 2017;Ugurel Kamisli, 2021;von Haumeder et al, 2019). For commonly reported PTEs among the general refugee population, see Chen et al (2017) and Silove et al (1997).…”

“…Many Syrian refugees in European countries and the U.S. report having experienced discrimination because of their ethnicity or religion (Kindermann et al, 2020;Tinghög et al, 2017;Ugurel Kamisli, 2021;von Haumeder et al, 2019) and describe stereotypes and discrimination as the biggest obstacle for integration (von Haumeder et al, 2019). Moreover, many Syrian refugees in Western countries report having perceived the integration efforts to be one-sided and that they are expected to assimilate the host country's cultural values and ways without being given room to manifest their own culture (Safdar et al, 2021).…”

“…Postmigration risks and protective factors for mental health outcomes. As defined above, acculturation involves psychosocial and sociocultural adaptation, which requires affective, behavioral, and cognitive changes within groups and individuals (Ugurel Kamisli, 2021). Such changes can be stressful and overwhelming, and previous trauma and mental illness may decrease mental resilience to stress (Chen et al, 2017;Tinghög et al, 2017), adding to the postmigration challenges that many refugees face.…”

“…For example, Kazour et al (2017) reported that only 2% of Syrian refugees with PTSD in Lebanon received psychiatric consultation and none had any professional psychological support. Lack of psychoeducation, stigma, difficulties expressing traumatic experiences due to cultural and language obstacles, and mistrust of service systems are commonly experienced barriers to accessing mental health services (Bunn and Betancourt, 2022;Kazour et al, 2017;Peconga and Høgh Thøgersen, 2020), which is evident in both camp and urban settings in neighboring countries, as well as in Western communities (Kazour et al, 2017;Naal et al, 2021;Peconga and Høgh Thøgersen, 2020;Ugurel Kamisli, 2021).…”