Psychological problems and resilience among Syrian adolescents exposed to war

Uysal, Burcu; Yanik, Medaim; Taştekne, Feyzanur; Tuzgen, Esma; Altinisik, Esra; Acartürk, Ceren

doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2022.100258

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Unlike other results (89), being together with a family member was associated with higher PTSD symptom scores in our sample. This finding may be surprising, as social support has been shown to have a buffering effect against PTSD (90). Possible explanations for this could be that the family does not necessarily provide social support in the face of family conflict and violence (5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Overall, the associations between When living in a precarious situation, time itself does not seem to support recovery from PTSD symptom severity. To date, the mitigating effect of time on PTSD is controversially discussed and ranges from improvement to no effect till exacerbation of PTSD symptomatology (85,86,90). Different exposure to post-migration living difficulties could explain the contrasting results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study

Knappe

Filippou

Hatzigeorgiadis

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundForcibly displaced people face various challenges and are therefore at higher risk of being affected by mental and physiological distress. The present study aimed to determine levels of psychological well-being, PTSD symptom severity, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among forcibly displaced people in Greece in response to WHO’s call for evidence-based public health policies and programs for forcibly displaced people.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among n = 150 (50% women) forcibly displaced people originating from Sub-Sahara Africa and Southwest Asia living in a Greek refugee camp. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess psychological well-being, symptoms of PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and insomnia, perceived stress, headache, and perceived fitness. Cardiovascular risk markers were assessed to determine metabolic syndrome, and cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with the Åstrand-Rhyming Test of Maximal Oxygen Uptake.ResultsThe prevalence of mental distress and physiological disorders was overall elevated. Only 53.0% of participants rated their psychological well-being as high. Altogether, 35.3% scored above the clinical cut-off for PTSD, 33.3% for depression, 27.9% for generalized anxiety disorder, and 33.8% for insomnia. One in four (28.8%) participants met criteria for metabolic syndrome. While the prevalence of moderate or severe insomnia symptoms and metabolic syndrome differed little from the global population, the risk of being affected by mental distress was markedly increased. In multivariable analysis, higher perceived fitness was associated with higher psychological well-being (OR = 1.35, p = 0.003) and a decreased likelihood for metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.80, p = 0.031). Participants with elevated psychiatric symptoms were less likely to report high psychological well-being (OR = 0.22, p = 0.003) and had increased odds for higher PTSD severity (OR = 3.27, p = 0.034). Increased stress perception was associated with higher PTSD symptoms (OR = 1.13, p = 0.002).ConclusionThere is an elevated risk for mental distress compared to the global population and an overall high mental and physiological burden among people living in a Greek refugee camp. The findings underpin the call for urgent action. Policies should aim to reduce post-migration stressors and address mental health and non-communicable diseases by various programs. Sport and exercise interventions may be a favorable add-on, given that perceived fitness is associated with both mental and physiological health benefits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study

Knappe

Filippou

Hatzigeorgiadis

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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“…Therefore, students' hopeful views of their lives and their experience as having high resilience might be somewhat surprising, particularly for this study sample considering challenging adaptation processes with regard to the new education system and social environment as supported by studies investigated adaptation processes of Syrian refugee students to the educational system in Turkey (Bozan et al, 2021). However, on the other hand, lack of traumatic experiences, social support from families and peers (Uysal et al, 2022), and attending a school that provides a sense of safety and belonging were factors supported to be associated with higher hope and resilience levels (Marley & Mauki, 2019). In respect to the sample of the current study, students with lack of traumatic experiences and having an environment including supporting social connections depending on qualitative observations but not quantitative support, might be suggested to have a role in higher hope and resilience levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Examining the effectiveness of a group hope intervention program in Syrian refugee children: A pilot study

Ataman

Uysal

2023

Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a 6-session hope-based intervention program on the levels of hope and psychological resilience of Syrian refugee children. The pre-test post-test control group design was implemented. A total of 42 Syrian refugee students in 5th grade participated in the study. 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA, independent sample t-test, and dependent sample t-test were conducted for data analysis. Mixed ANOVA revealed that the intervention group had more improvement in hope and psychological resilience scores compared to the control group. Dependent sample t-test revealed that while the hope and resilience scores of the intervention group were maintained, the hope scores of the control group significantly decreased. Independent sample t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between the post-test hope scores of the groups. Research findings supported that hope-oriented approaches can be effective in improving the resilience of Syrian refugee children in the long term.

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“…Table 1 presents the following data from the included articles: author (s), the country where the study took place, study design, participant characteristics, country of origin, and sample size and sampling technique. Five studies were conducted in Asian countries [32][33][34][35][36], and three studies were from Europe [37][38][39]. Six studies employed a cross-sectional research design [32][33][34]36,37,39] and two studies [35,38] utilised a case study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between Traumatic Experience and Resilience in Adolescent Refugees: A Scoping Review

Danga

Adebiyi

Koegler

et al. 2022

Youth

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Research on adolescent refugee resilience is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of adaptation to resettlement areas and integration into a new country. However, the current literature does not provide clear evidence on the determinants of resilience factors and the association between traumatic experiences and resilience among adolescent refugees. Four electronic databases were searched to identify relevant articles. Inclusion criteria for articles were (i) potential traumatic experience was the independent variable and resilience was an outcome variable of the study, (ii) association between traumatic experiences and resilience was reported, (iii) participants of the study included adolescent refugees or asylum seekers and (iv) to be peer-reviewed publications based on primary data, written in English and published between 1 January 2010 and 20 January 2022. Eight articles were included in this scoping review. The review found that most of the included studies identified individual, relational/family and contextual/cultural factors as determinants of resilience. However, there were inconsistencies in the association between traumatic experiences and resilience. This review suggests that intervention strategies implemented among adolescent refugees should focus on enhancing individual, family/relational, and cultural/social factors to protect adolescents from possible poor mental health consequences after exposure to trauma.

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Psychological problems and resilience among Syrian adolescents exposed to war

Cited by 6 publications

References 53 publications

Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study

Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study

Examining the effectiveness of a group hope intervention program in Syrian refugee children: A pilot study

Associations between Traumatic Experience and Resilience in Adolescent Refugees: A Scoping Review

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