Background: In previous research, it has been established that a child who has experienced the death of a parent is vulnerable to a variety of concerns, including grief, distress and dysphoria, particularly in the first year following the death. In addition, one in five parentally-bereaved children is likely to develop a psychiatric disorder. As Kemshall argues, the growing body of evidence linking delinquency in adolescents to previous traumatic life experiences, such as parental loss, with a large number of children affected every year makes this is a very important area for research. This paper considers the effects of parental bereavement in childhood, and is part of a wider study exploring the future for children who experience a parent's death. We found that parentally-bereaved children are significantly more vulnerable to delinquent behaviour than those who have not experienced parental bereavement. Thus there is a need for awareness of the variables that form protectors to the vulnerability to delinquency formed, in part by the experience of a parent's death. Methods: We used secondary data from the National Child Development study from which children who had been parentally bereaved by the age of 16 were identified. The Rutter Behaviour Scale highlighted which of those children also displayed delinquent behaviours; the Pearson Chi Square was used to establish significant links between these two factors. Potential moderating factors of social class background, gender of child, gender of dead parent and age of child at the time of bereavement were also examined. Results: The findings present as a set of risk variables that increase a child's susceptibility to delinquent behaviour, with specific reference to children who have been parentally bereaved. Children who were parentally bereaved before the age of 16 were significantly more likely to display delinquent behaviour than those who were not, as indicated by scoring 9 or above, the cut off point on the Rutter Behaviour Scale (p 5 .001). These scores of 9þ at 16 are significantly more likely (p 5 .001) for children who were bereaved between the ages of 12 and 16 years. For all children (including children not parentally bereaved), boys were significantly more likely than girls to score 9þ on the Rutter Behaviour Scale at 16 (p 5 .001). However, gender was not a significant factor in parentally-bereaved children, indicating parentally-bereaved girls are more likely to display similar levels of delinquent behaviour to non-parentally-bereaved boys. Children from manual backgrounds are significantly more likely than those from non-manual backgrounds to be parentally bereaved (p 5 .001).
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines refugees as people who are outside their country and cannot return due to a well-founded fear of persecution. They then seek safety in another state by applying for 'asylum', the right to receive legal protection and assistance (UNHCR, 2007). Underage refugees can be defined as 'unaccompanied asylum seeker children' (UASC) when they are separated from both parents and are not being cared for by any other adult who is legally responsible to do so (UNHCR, 1994). These refugee minors are a vulnerable group who are exposed to multiple traumatic events such as persecution, sexual maltreatment, imprisonment, torture, losses and other extreme traumatic events witnessed in their own country (Bean, Derluyn, Eurelings
Refugees and asylum seekers experience throughout their lives numerous losses of various nature. Treating mental health among these communities is challenging owing to language and cultural barriers. In addition, there are specific stressors associated with migration and settlement to be considered. This paper explores the use of the model 'continuing bonds' (CB) in two case studies as a form of enquiry. The authors draw upon social constructionist and narrative ideas to provide an enquiry approach that enables clinicians to understand and respond to the numerous losses of one's culture and relationships as a result of migratory grief. This is an emerging enquiry model based on the authors' work with unaccompanied minors which professionals can make use of in responding promptly and treating mental health difficulties within this population, drawing upon both past and present relationships.
Adopted children are a vulnerable group that have often experienced multiple traumatic events such as maltreatment, neglect and the perpetuation of abuse. These early traumatic experiences can result in compromised resilience which impacts both psychological and biological development (Cicchetti & Banny, 2014). This study used the systemic model approach, method and technique to gain an understanding of the complexity of presentation and formulation being made (Harris & Burnham, 1985). It also expanded on an early intervention sports protocol, named fast feet forward, that was previously used with unaccompanied asylum‐seeking minors with significant results. The use of running as a bilateral stimulus resulted in a rise in VOC (validity of cognition) and a reduction in SUD (subjective units of distress) scores, both after a single session and after 12 sessions. The data reported from this study replicated the previous findings of Draper et al., 2020) and showed the benefits of using fast feet forward with adopted children. The results further evidence the potential efficacy of this protocol for adopted children displaying complex trauma and show promising results for future enquiry. Future research should aim to replicate these findings with a larger sample size.
Disturbed sleep patterns, semi-starvation symptoms, loss of hope, and trauma symptomatology are often co-occurring clinical concerns for professionals working with unaccompanied minors. Delivering mental health treatment in such a context can be extremely challenging owing to the complexity of this multiple presentation. The early intervention framework described in this chapter provides an innovative model of clinical work with unaccompanied minors who have experienced, and continue to experience, ongoing traumas. This intervention is distinct in that its focus is on developing and embedding a framework of competencies that can inform practice among different professionals involved. The chapter delineates four main interventions that are tools aimed to promote young people’s resilience and well-being.
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