Trauma and resilient functioning among Syrian refugee children

Abstract

Following the civil war in Syria, there has been a growing interest in the impact of war, violent conflict, and refuge on the development and mental health of refugee children in general and Syrian refugee children in particular. The objective of this paper is threefold: (a) to critically review the existing literature on the psychological functioning of Syrian refugee children, with a particular focus on those residing in the urban areas or camps in Turkey; (b) to identify the main theoretical and methodological problems of this emerging literature; and (c) to suggest guidelines for how to improve research and practice in this field. The reviewed literature predominantly focuses on psychological trauma, trauma-related symptomatology or other maladaptive functioning in children, and psychosocial interventions conducted toward alleviating these issues. This paper will summarize the research findings in the above-mentioned topics to discern what can be known from the existing literature on Syrian refugee children.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: The Prevalence of Mental Illness in Child and Adolescent Refugees and Asylum Seekers

“…41 The role of family, particularly parental psychopathology, is crucial in its ability to mediate or exacerbate child mental health symptoms. 6,[55][56][57][58] The decision to include the two studies, 30,31 in which a proportion of the sample had been born in the host nations, may affect the generalizability of the results.…”

Pediatric Healthcare Utilization in a Large Cohort of Refugee Children Entering Western Europe During the Migrant Crisis

“…Taken together, our data illustrate the medical needs of refugee children and adolescents for primary care upon first arrival in a country with a high socioeconomic standard. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to physical and emotional trauma [30,31] and deserve particular medical attention and optimized care. As the UNHCR stated: Optimal care during the current refugee crisis demands a “multidimensional and comprehensive approach in public health and nutrition, and will require funding and donations of both technical support and commodities/funds beyond the normal programming needs” [27].…”

Cultural development and psychopathology

“…She presents the Identity Project intervention program and discusses how its outcomes deliver empirical support for the idea that cultural development can be modified with interventions, and that these changes can lead to mental health and social benefits for adolescents. Yaylaci (2018) discusses the importance of interventions tailored to alleviate the impact of war, violent conflict, and displacement on the development and mental health of refugee children in general, and Syrian refugee children and families in Turkey in particular. She examines evidence of the role of war trauma on parenting and child development, and intervention strategies that can foster resilient functioning and well-being.…”