Children at risk: A nation-wide, cross-sectional study examining post-traumatic stress symptoms in refugee minors from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan resettled in Sweden between 2014 and 2018

Abstract

Background The objective of the present study was to assess nation-wide, representative prevalence estimates for symptom-defined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within populations of refugee minors from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq resettled in Sweden. Methods A nation-wide, cross-sectional, questionnaire study with a stratified sample of refugee minors, aged 16–18 years, from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, resettled in Sweden between 2014 and 2018 (N = 5071) was conducted. The response rate was 22.3%, leaving n = 1129 refugee minors (boys 53.1% / girls 46.9%) in the final sample. Symptom-defined prevalences of PTSD were measured using CRIES-8 with ≥17 as cut-off. Data were analyzed using frequency distributions, and strata-specific PTSD prevalences with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), were estimated. The association between migratory status on arrival (unaccompanied vs. accompanied) and PTSD was estimated using crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) utilizing logistic regression analyses with 95% CIs. Results Overall, the weighted PTSD prevalence was 42% (95% CI 38.9–45.1), with minors from Afghanistan presenting the highest prevalence (56.9, 95% CI 51.5–62.2), compared to minors from Iraq (36.8, 95% CI 28.9–45.4) and Syria (33.4, 95% CI 29.4–37.6). Unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan had higher odds of PTSD compared to accompanied minors from Afghanistan (OR = 1.92, 95% CI 1.08–3.40). Gender differences were non-significant. Conclusions High prevalences of symptom-defined PTSD among refugee minors in general and in unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan in particular, were revealed. Findings calls for continued efforts to support this especially vulnerable group.

Syrian Refugee Youth Resettled in Norway: Mechanisms of Resilience Influencing Health-Related Quality of Life and Mental Distress

“…Levels of general mental distress (36%) and PTSD (48%) were high, reflective of studies with Syrian youth resettled in neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Turkey ( 52 , 53 ). However, Syrian youth in Sweden had much lower levels (34%) ( 54 ), suggesting a possible overestimation in this study. The participants reported high amounts of adverse experiences from war and flight akin to other studies of resettled Syrian children and youth ( 30 , 52 ).…”

Mental Health Outcomes of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: a Rapid Review of Recent Research

“…Studies referred to the development of these symptoms as PTSS. There is significant overlap in the symptoms defining PTSD and PTSS [ 24 , 29 , 32 , 37 , 38 ]. All measures of both PTSD and PTSS in the studies included were symptom driven.…”

“…All measures of both PTSD and PTSS in the studies included were symptom driven. PTSD rates were as high as 53.7% among a group of 324 URMs in Sweden, compared to just 37.1% of accompanied refugees [ 24 ]. Among another sample in Sweden, of 265 URMs assessed by a medical professional, 21.8% had post-traumatic stress symptoms to such a degree where it was affecting wellbeing on a daily basis, compared to just 5.8% of accompanied refugee minors [ 28 ].…”

“…Among this group of URMs placed in a refugee camp, the most robust predictor of PTSD was previous exposure to trauma. Unaccompanied status was also an important predictor of PTSD and PTSS [ 24 , 28 , 32 ]. PTSD was predicted by number of traumatic experiences, lower individual resources and social support, and language acquisition [ 32 ] [ 33 ].…”

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life and mental health in children and adolescents in Germany

“…Particularly children with low socioeconomic status and preexisting mental health problems may be exposed to cumulative risks. This assumption is based on a solid body of previous research demonstrating that a low socioeconomic status of children [9][10][11], low parental education and migration status [12,13] are risk factors for mental health problems among children. Also when experiencing home confinement, it can be assumed that children living in small apartments are more stressed-concluding from the literature indicating that limited living space can affect mental health [14].…”