Problemas de Conducta y Depresión entre Refugiados no Acom-pañados: La asociación entre el impacto del trauma pre-migratorio y la aculturación

Abstract

Título: Problemas de Conducta y Depresión entre Refugiados no Acompañados: La asociación entre el impacto del trauma pre-migratorio y la aculturación Resumen: Hay escaso conocimiento sobre la adaptación a largo plazo de los niños menores de edad que emigran sin ser acompañados por sus padres para pedir asilo en un país extranjero. El presente estudio investigó los efectos combinados del impacto de haber tenido experiencias traumáticas relacionadas con la guerra antes de emigrar y los índices del proceso de aculturación actual (competencia cultural y problemas con endogrupos / exogrupos) sobre la depresión y los problemas conductuales. Los participantes fueron 566 refugiados menores no acompañados que habían llegado a Noruega buscando asilo y a los que se concedió la residencia y que estaban domiciliados por todo el país. Su estancia media en Noruega era de 3,7 años y su edad media era de 18,9 años. Se reunían en grupos en sus lugares de residencia y rellenaban cuestionarios con información acerca de sus experiencias pre y post-migratorias y de su salud mental. Los resultados encontrados indican que, aunque este grupo de jóvenes refugiados informa de pocos problemas de conducta, el nivel de depresión es alto. Sin embargo, a pesar de los problemas de depresión, su proceso de aculturación hace progresos, ya que están adquiriendo la competencia cultural necesaria para integrarse en la sociedad mayoritaria y mantener el contacto con su cultura de origen. Un modelo para evaluar los efectos de la competencia cultural y de los problemas con endogrupos/exogrupos en combinación con el impacto de experiencias traumáticas relacionadas con la guerra no explicaba gran parte de las diferencias individuales en los problemas de conducta. En cambio, los índices de aculturación explicaban una variación sustancial de los problemas de depresión, por encima de los efectos del impacto de experiencias traumáticas relacionadas con la guerra. Se concluye que la competencia cultural étnica y de la sociedad de acogida debe ser el enfoque a seguir en las intervenciones para impulsar la integración socio-cultural y la salud mental. Palabras clave: problemas de conducta; depresión; competencia cultural; problemas con endogrupo y exogrupos; experiencias traumáticas relacionadas con la guerra. Abstract:There is scarce knowledge about the long term adaptation of children who migrate without the company of their legal guardians to apply for asylum in a foreign country. The present study investigated the combined effects of impact of premigratory war-related trauma, and indices of current acculturation (culture competence and ingroup / outgroup hassles) on conduct and depression problems. Participants were 566 refugees who had arrived in Norway as unaccompanied minor asylumseekers, were granted residence and resettled all over the country. They had a mean length of stay in Norway of 3.7 years and a mean age of 18.9 years. They gathered in groups in their home towns, and filled in questionnaires with information about pre-and post-migration experie...

A System Model of Post-Migration Risk Factors Affecting the Mental Health of Unaccompanied Minor Refugees in Austria—A Multi-Step Modeling Process Involving Expert Knowledge from Science and Practice

“…Perceived lower levels of discrimination mediated this effect. The same study, and others, also found an association between acculturation-specific difficulties and depression [ 37 , 42 ]. These findings confirm the stated reciprocal relations between sociocultural adaptation and social contacts and relations in the host country .…”

“…Several international studies confirm the influence of sociocultural adaptation on the mental health of UMRs. The study of [ 42 ] reported that depression decreases when the level of cultural competence increases. Perceived lower levels of discrimination mediated this effect.…”

“…Furthermore, some of the factors identified in workshop 1 and workshop 2 were excluded in the further course of the third workshop. For instance, the factor contact with family and family remittances or the factor of family reunification were not integrated into the final system model, despite their assumed relevance as an important determinant of children’s mental health in workshop 1 and workshop 2 as well as in the literature on family support and family situation [ 36 , 42 , 45 ]. However, both factors seemed ambiguous to the scientists of workshop 3, as they may exert both a positive and negative impact on the mental health of UMRs, as described in more detail in the results.…”

The Relationship of Acculturation, Traumatic Events and Depression in Female Refugees

“…Since traumatic experiences and acculturation processes might affect depressive symptoms (Oppedal and Idsoe, 2012;LeMaster et al, 2017), the interaction between trauma and acculturation strategies might be a crucial factor. Consistent with this assumption, a previous study (Ngo et al, 2001) observed variation in the effect of pre-migration traumatic experiences on depression in migrants according to the level of acculturation.…”

Analysis of Psychometric Properties and Validation of the Personal Learning Environments Questionnaire (PLE) and Social Integration of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (MENA)

“…However, studies such as those of Jiménez [52] argued that we cannot understand individuals from such groups without stopping to comprehend their inner self. Other authors added to this the importance of an inter-cultural education for the full socio-cultural integration and mental health of this population [53].…”