Cross-culturally effective, low-threshold therapies for refugees that can be carried out quickly are urgently required. Worldwide, therapies are lacking, particularly for preschool refugee children, which support coping and prevent chronification of posttraumatic stress. This pilot study examined eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)-based group treatment for preschool refugee children in German daycare centers. Ten refugee preschool children aged 4–6 years (n = 5 female) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms took part in an EMDR-based group treatment (with 2–4 children per group). PTSD symptoms were rated by parents and preschool teachers using items from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1½–5), pre- and posttreatment, and at 3-month follow-up. After treatment children tended to display less fear of animals or situations than before treatment. According to preschool teachers' perspective, the total number of PTSD symptoms dropped significantly at posttreatment (d = .93) and at follow-up (d = .81). Before the intervention, preschool teachers rated the children as being more defiant than their parents did (p = .020). After the intervention, the PTSD symptoms of boys were significantly higher than those of girls (p = .036) according to preschool teachers. The results indicate that timely psychotherapeutic interventions can be conducted with refugee children displaying PTSD symptoms in daycare centers. The efficacy of this intervention needs to be studied in a larger sample under controlled randomized conditions.
Experiences of discrimination such as everyday racism can negatively affect the mental and physical health of children and adolescents with an immigrant background and impair their integration process in the host societies. Although experiences of racism are part of the everyday life of many minors affected by the process of “Othering” (e.g., those with an immigrant background), an overview of empirical findings is missing for this age group worldwide. A systematic review was conducted to identify and analyze international research on the impact of discrimination on the developmental outcomes and integration of immigrant children and adolescents. Three scientific databases were systematically searched up to June 11, 2021. A total of k = 4,769 identified publications were reviewed based on inclusion and exclusion criteria in terms of the PICOS format by independent reviewers. Thirty-four primary studies published between 1998 and 2021 met all inclusion criteria. The samples examined were mainly migrant youth (k = 30), with only k = 2 studies assessing refugee youth and k = 1 study assessing both migrant and refugee youth. The majority of included studies assessed perceived discrimination, with only k = 1 study directly assessing experiences of racism. The association between discrimination or racism and developmental outcomes was assessed by the included studies within the three main topics of (a) mental and physical health-related outcomes (k = 30, e.g., self-esteem, depressive symptoms), (b) school-related outcomes (k = 6, e.g., academic achievement), and (c) other developmental outcomes (k = 13, e.g., misconduct or delinquency). Data collection procedures were implemented, and findings on minors’ developmental outcomes and integration process who experience discrimination and racism were summarized and discussed. The current review suggests experienced (racial) discrimination as a negative predictor of children and adolescents’ (mental) health-related outcomes, while no clear results could be found for the association between discrimination and school-related outcomes. A need for more empirical research focusing on the path and (possibly) indirect link between discrimination and children and adolescents’ school-related outcomes as well as resulting school recommendations and the chosen career path was derived.Systematic Review Registration[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=260291], identifier [CRD42021260291].
Zusammenfassung. Kinder im Vorschulalter zwischen drei und sechs Jahren weisen ein hohes Risiko für Gewalterfahrungen und Unfälle auf oder können durch lebensbedrohliche Erkrankungen bzw. schwere medizinische Eingriffe bei sich oder engen Bezugspersonen bereits schwere psychische Belastungen erleben. Dennoch lassen sich Studien zur Häufigkeit von traumatischen Erfahrungen sowie zu Traumafolgestörungen, wie der Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS), bei Vorschulkindern weltweit bisher nur vereinzelt finden. Der Beitrag a) gibt daher einen Überblick über Kriterien und Instrumente zur Diagnostik der PTBS bei Vorschulkindern, b) fasst die Ergebnisse eines systematischen Literaturreviews zur Häufigkeit der PTBS bei traumatisierten Vorschulkindern zusammen und c) beschreibt die wenigen verfügbaren Befunde zur psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutischen Versorgung junger Kinder mit Traumafolgestörungen unter Berücksichtigung möglicher Barrieren für die Inanspruchnahme von professionellen Hilfen in Deutschland. Die sieben in das Literaturreview eingeschlossenen Studien, in denen insgesamt 1029 Drei- bis Sechsjährige mit Kriegserlebnissen und anderen Traumata in Israel bzw. Palästinensischen Gebieten, USA und Deutschland untersucht wurden, zeigten PTBS-Häufigkeiten zwischen 0 % und 50 %. Die wenigen Untersuchungen zur Inanspruchnahme von Psychotherapien durch Vorschulkinder in Deutschland deuten auf eine Unterversorgung dieser Gruppe hin. Es fehlt allerdings an repräsentativen Studien zur Häufigkeit der PTBS im Vorschulalter sowie zur Versorgung von posttraumatisch belasteten Vorschulkindern. Bei traumatisierten Vorschulkindern muss unter anderem aufgrund der für diese Altersgruppe wenig sensitiven PTBS-Kriterien in der ICD-10, der starken Abhängigkeit von Bezugspersonen und vom sozialen Umfeld sowie aufgrund genereller Barrieren in der psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutischen Versorgung von einer Unterschätzung der Anzahl an betroffenen Kindern sowie von einer Unterversorgung ausgegangen werden.
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