The transmission of trauma in refugee families: associations between intra-family trauma communication style, children’s attachment security and psychosocial adjustment

Dalgaard, Nina Thorup; Todd, Brenda K.; Daniel, Sarah Ingrid Franksdatter; Montgomery, Edith

doi:10.1080/14616734.2015.1113305

Cited by 111 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…As demonstrated in previous research, post-traumatic stress extends beyond the individual to family members and can be experienced as a common trauma in the family, where parents' reactions to traumatic experiences and the child's own perception of these experiences may affect the child's wellbeing and mental health [15]. Parental experience of traumatic stress may lead to a lack of consistency and stability in the family and has been associated with disconnected and insensitive parenting behaviour and harsh parenting styles [11,12,25,26]. Parental exposure to various forms of trauma has also been associated with an increased risk of violent behaviour and child abuse [27,28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The obvious environmental factors involved in the development of PTSD may indicate that genetic factors are less important than for psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder [9,10]. On the other hand, many of the symptoms of PTSD, including re-experiencing the traumatic event with persistent, intrusive memories, irritability and lack of emotional presence can be hypothesised to interfere in the interaction between parent and child [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental PTSD and school performance in 16-year-olds – a Swedish national cohort study

Berg

Charboti

Montgomery

et al. 2019

Nordic Journal of Psychiatry

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Aim: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents can have severe consequences also for their children. Prevalence of PTSD is high among refugees. Refugee children have been reported to perform poorly in school. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of PTSD in refugee and native Swedish parents on children's school performance and to compare the impact of PTSD with that of other major psychiatric disorders. Methods: Register study where multiple regression models were used to analyse school performance in 15-16-year-olds in a national cohort (n ¼ 703,813). PTSD and other major psychiatric disorders (bipolar, depression and/or psychotic disorders) were identified from out-and in-patient hospital care. Results: Maternal and paternal PTSD were associated with lower grades, with adjusted effects of 0.30-0.37 SD in refugee and 0.46-0.50 SD in native Swedish families. Impact of PTSD was greater than that of other psychiatric disorders and comorbidity to PTSD did not increase this impact. Although the impact of PTSD on grades was greater in children in native Swedish families, consequences with regard to eligibility to secondary education were greater for children in refugee families, where 35% of these children were ineligible. Conclusions: Parental PTSD has major consequences for children's school performance and contributes to the lower school performance in children in refugee families in Sweden. Identification and treatment of PTSD in refugee parents is important for offspring educational achievement. Psychiatric clinics and treatment centres need to have a strategy for support, including educational support, to the offspring of their patients with PTSD. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental PTSD and school performance in 16-year-olds – a Swedish national cohort study

Berg

Charboti

Montgomery

et al. 2019

Nordic Journal of Psychiatry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The SDQ is available in more than 20 languages and is one of the most widely used dimensional assessment instruments in multicultural research [36]. It has demonstrated acceptable to strong internal consistency [37, 38] and adequate test-retest reliability [38] with refugee samples in humanitarian settings and has been used widely with child and adolescent refugees in high-income countries [30, 39–47]. Evidence for the reliability of the SDQ with refugee samples is available from Canada, where the measure demonstrated satisfactory to high internal consistency [48].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lau

Silove

Edwards

et al. 2018

BMC Med

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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.

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“…The global mental health literature demonstrates that trauma experienced by a parental figure can adversely affect offspring and subsequent generations (Dalgaard, Todd, Daniel, & Montgomery, 2016; Sirikantraporn & Green, 2016). The impact of trauma on the dyadic relationship is further complicated when a parent has experienced torture (Daud, Skoglund, & Rydelius, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Training the next generation of psychotraumatologists: COllaborative Network for Training and EXcellence in psychoTraumatology (CONTEXT)

Vallières

Murphy

Hansen

et al. 2017

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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In this paper we present a description of the Horizon2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action funded, research and training programme CONTEXT: COllaborative Network for Training and EXcellence in psychoTraumatology. The three objectives of the programme are put forward, each of which refers to a key component of the CONTEXT programme. First, we summarize the 12 individual research projects that will take place across three priority populations: (i) refugees and asylum seekers, (ii) first responders, and (iii) perpetrators and survivors of childhood and gender-based violence. Second, we detail the mentoring and training programme central to CONTEXT. Finally, we describe how the research, together with the training, will contribute towards better policy, guidelines, and practice within the field of psychotraumatology.

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The transmission of trauma in refugee families: associations between intra-family trauma communication style, children’s attachment security and psychosocial adjustment

Cited by 111 publications

References 43 publications

Parental PTSD and school performance in 16-year-olds – a Swedish national cohort study

Parental PTSD and school performance in 16-year-olds – a Swedish national cohort study

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

Training the next generation of psychotraumatologists: COllaborative Network for Training and EXcellence in psychoTraumatology (CONTEXT)

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