Adjustment of refugee children and adolescents in Australia: outcomes from wave three of the Building a New Life in Australia study

Abstract

BackgroundHigh-income countries like Australia play a vital role in resettling refugees from around the world, half of whom are children and adolescents. Informed by an ecological framework, this study examined the post-migration adjustment of refugee children and adolescents 2–3 years after arrival to Australia. We aimed to estimate the overall rate of adjustment among young refugees and explore associations with adjustment and factors across individual, family, school, and community domains, using a large and broadly representative sample.MethodsData were drawn from Wave 3 of the Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) study, a nationally representative, longitudinal study of settlement among humanitarian migrants in Australia. Caregivers of refugee children aged 5–17 (N = 694 children and adolescents) were interviewed about their children’s physical health and activity, school absenteeism and achievement, family structure and parenting style, and community and neighbourhood environment. Parent and child forms of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were completed by caregivers and older children to assess social and emotional adjustment.ResultsSound adjustment according to the SDQ was observed regularly among young refugees, with 76-94% (across gender and age) falling within normative ranges. Comparison with community data for young people showed that young refugees had comparable or higher adjustment levels than generally seen in the community. However, young refugees as a group did report greater peer difficulties. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses showed that better reported physical health and school achievement were associated with higher adjustment. Furthermore, higher school absenteeism and endorsement of a hostile parenting style were associated with lower adjustment.ConclusionsThis is the first study to report on child psychosocial outcomes from the large, representative longitudinal BNLA study. Our findings indicate sound adjustment for the majority of young refugees resettled in Australia. Further research should examine the nature of associations between variables identified in this study. Overall, treating mental health problems early remains a priority in resettlement. Initiatives to enhance parental capability, physical health, school achievement and participation could assist to improve settlement outcomes for young refugees.

Paediatric asylum seekers in Western Australia: Identification of adversity and complex needs through comprehensive refugee health assessment

“…International evidence exists regarding the negative impact of cumulative adverse childhood experiences in the absence of early intervention and trauma‐informed care . Refugee children entering via humanitarian pathways experience ongoing adversities; however, resilience factors are described . Our AS cohort had high adversity levels but could not consistently access appropriate early intervention or psychological treatment due to the nature of their visa status or forced relocations.…”

The association of migration experiences on the self-rated health status among adult humanitarian refugees to Australia: an analysis of a longitudinal cohort study

“…Refugees who are accepted for resettlement are among the most vulnerable groups in our society in terms of risk for poor health due to their past and current experiences [3]. Therefore, it is important for resettlement nations to understand the long-term health needs and settlement prospects of this vulnerable and ever-growing population, so that timely and appropriate supports can be provided [4–9]. However, the extent to which migration factors shape the long-term health of resettling refugees is not well understood.…”

“…We used the first three years of data from the Australian Government’s ‘Building A New Life in Australia’ (BNLA) longitudinal survey. Other analyses of the BNLA survey have been published [4, 14–17], but none have investigated the impact of migration on the self-rated health of the BNLA respondents. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to use the described methodological approach to investigate the health of resettled refugees.…”

Mental health status compared among rural-to-urban migrant, urban and rural school-age children in Guangdong Province, China

“…Exploring the relationships between socio-demographic characteristics and children’s mental health outcomes might yield suggestions to relieve their mental health burden. A large body of studies identified that socio-demographic characteristics were associated with children’s mental health, including older age, difficulties in relationships with others, difficulties communicating with parents, not living with parents, and poor school achievement as risk-enhancing factors [5, 9, 11], whereas higher family economic status and higher parental education level, satisfactory family climate as risk-attenuating factors [2, 12, 13].…”