Review of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire translated into languages spoken by children and adolescents of refugee background (original) (raw)
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European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Background: Questionnaires are widely used to assess the mental health status of refugees, whereas their construct validity largely remains unexplored. Objective: This study examined the construct validity of two widely-used instruments for the assessment of PTSD symptoms (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire [HTQ]; 16 items) and symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hopkins Symptom Check list-25 [HSCL-25]; 25 items) among Dutch and refugee patients with different linguistic backgrounds. Method: We applied exploratory factor analyses and measurement invariance analyses to test construct validity.Participants (n =1 256) were divided into five linguistic groups defined by language family, including four non-western linguistic groups (Indo-Iranian [n = 262], Niger-Congo [n = 134], Semitic [n = 288], and South Slavic languages [n = 199]) and one western linguistic group (Germanic languages; Dutch [n = 373]). Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 3-factor structure of the HTQ and a 2-factor structure of the HSCL-25. Measurement invariance 20 analyses on the HTQ showed strong measurement invariance across the groups of refugee patients. However, Dutch patients reported milder symptom severity on most items of the HTQ. Measurement invariance analyses on the HSCL-25 (not conducted in Dutch patients) indicated partial strong measurement invariance across refugee patients. Conclusion: We conclude that mental health constructs measured by the HTQ and the HSCL25 25 are to a large extent interpreted in a similar way by refugee patients. This indicates that these instruments can be applied in non-western refugee patient populations, and that local idioms of distress and inherent response patterns may not play a major role when applying the HTQ and the HSCL-25 in these populations. Yet, whereas meaningful comparisons of observed PTSD and depression scores between groups of refugee patients with different non30 western linguistic background are feasible, comparisons between patients with a western and nonwestern linguistic background, as well as comparisons of anxiety scores, are likely to be biased. Future studies need to establish whether the commonly used cutoff scores of both questionnaires apply for refugee patients with non-western linguistic backgrounds.
Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease
Children of asylum seekers are at risk for psychosocial problems because of their flight history and exceptional living circumstances. This study aims to assess the association of sociodemographic factors and asylum procedural factors with psychosocial problems of asylum seekers' children, and differences herein by informant (parents, teachers, and children). To this end, we obtained data on psychosocial problems among a random sample of 267 children aged 4 to 16, living in Dutch asylum seekers' centers, using the multi-informant Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results show that the prevalence rate of psychosocial problems among asylum seekers' children was high. The occurrence was not associated with asylum-procedural variables but only with child-contextual factors such as mental health of the mother and leaving behind a parent in the country of origin. The associations varied in strength by informant. Therefore, preventive and supportive measures to improve psychosocial health of young asylumseekers should concentrate on these contextual issues. c Angola (n ϭ 42), Congo (n ϭ 6), Rwanda (n ϭ 3), Sudan (n ϭ 13), Togo (n ϭ 1). SD indicates standard deviation; p-SDQ, parent-version of the strength and difficulties questionnaire; t-SDQ, teacher-version of the strength and difficulties questionnaire; s-SDQ, self-report version of the strength and difficulties questionnaire.
Migration and Development, 2020
In recent years, the prevalence of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) in Europe has increased and not much research has been carried out in the area of quantifying the psychological problems facing such minors. The aim of this study is to assess whether URMs have more emotional and behavioral difficulties than Italian children and if there were any significant differences in psychological problems comparing URMs who come from different countries. The URM group, composed of 98 males aged 11-17 years, was compared with 103 Italian adolescents aged 12-17 years. Psychological vulnerabilities were assessed using Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. What we found with our research is that URMs would seem to be much more pro-social than Italian boys, although they would seem to have more problems with peers and in managing their emotions. This high pro-sociality could be useful for the purposes of support and prevention of possible future psychological problems. Furthermore, Italian children scored higher in behavioural problems subscale than URMs, suggesting a probable relationship between low prosociality and high behavioural problems.
Background: Half of the world's refugees comprise children and adolescents. Confronting conflicts and difficulties before, during, and after migration and seeking asylum affect their mental health. The present study aimed at investigating the challenges of mental health of migrant and refugee adolescents and children. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted in the second half of 2016 using PubMed, Scopus, Magiran, SID, and Google Scholar databases. From the 2014 studies initially selected, 20 articles that specifically attended to examining the mental health of migrant and refugee adolescents and children were finally extracted. Results: According to previous studies, the refugee adolescents and children encounter much harm. In addition to psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-trauma stress disorder and psychosomatic pains, this group of refugees also suffers from a decline in flexibility and behavioral and cognitive functions. These conditions have been reported more often in refugee adolescents and children who have been separated from their parents or left far away from them. Conclusion: Before a crisis occurs, policymakers and planners should formulate and implement educational programs along with the participation of parents and teachers in order for children to cope with conditions of disasters, and in order to promote the culture of resilience. The health system, while developing special care programs must prioritize the training of its employees in order to provide services. Most studies have attended to the incidence of symptoms of refugees' psychological disorders, while it seems necessary to conduct intervention studies with the aim of identifying elements of risk and ways to resolve these elements.
Mental health issues of child refugees and migrants
Oxford Textbook of Migrant Psychiatry
Increasing global numbers of voluntary and forced migrating children under 18 years of age represent the majority subpopulation among refugees and migrants. With arrival in high-income countries, most children achieve positive secure growth. Pre- and post-migratory experiences, developmental issues, familial, and sociocultural contexts contribute to mental health risk evaluation along with additional child challenges related to mastery of attachment disruptions, acculturation, educational adjustments, resilience capacities, mental health distress, or emerging disorders. Theories of positive post-traumatic growth generated by adversity, as well as current models of child cultural formulation evaluation and preventive intervention strategies, emphasize resilience promotion, cultural safety, and trauma transformation, implicating sociocultural, familial, legal, educational, and collective agendas. Mental health interventions are best approached within contextual, systemic, and advocacy...
Syrian Refugee Children: A Study of Strengths and Difficulties
Journal of Human Rights and Social Work
This research examined the psychological status of Syrian refugee children residing in Antalya, Turkey using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The psychological aspects explored in the SDQ are emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, conduct disorder, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. We analyzed scores for Syrian refugee children between the ages of 9 and 15 years living in the city center of Antalya, Turkey. For comparison, a similar group of Turkish students completed the same questionnaire. Significant effects of psychological deficit were found for the Syrian refugee children. We conclude that Syrian refugee children in Antalya suffer from severe emotional and conduct problems compared to the Turkish children (who have heightened hyperactivity). Most startling is that both Syrian and Turkish youth in this study have the highest averages for Total Difficulties worldwide, with Syrian refugee children scoring twice as high as their United States counterparts. The results of this study strongly support the need for psychological counseling for refugee children. Additionally, access to counseling should be understood to be critical to refugees' human right to rehabilitation.
Mental health status of refugee children
European Journal of Public Health, 2020
Background A number of refugees and asylum seekers have increased dramatically in recent years. More than 250 million people worldwide are considered as refugees (United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2018), among whom more than 50% are children. General health and especially psychological health of the refugee and asylum seeking children are an emerging, however, not well explored issues. In this study, we aimed to review the literature on the psychological health of refugee children. Methods We performed a literature search and descriptive analysis of studies published until July 2019, through MEDLINE and Science Direct databases. We identified literature on psychological health state of refugee and asylum seeking children. We analysed results of 16 studies. Results The study found that refugee children are facing severe psychological health issues, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, behavioural problems. We identified 3 pha...
Review of Refugee Mental Health Assessment: Best Practices and Recommendations
Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 2010
This article focuses on mental health assessment of refugees in clinical, educational and administrative-legal settings in order to synthesise research and practice designed to enhance and promote further development of culturally appropriate clinical assessment services during the refugee resettlement process. It specifically surveys research published over the last 25 years into the development, reliability measurement and validity testing of assessment instruments, which have been used with children, adolescents and adults from refugee backgrounds, prior to or following their arrival in a resettlement country, to determine whether the instruments meet established crosscultural standards of conceptual, functional, linguistic, technical and normative equivalence. The findings suggest that, although attempts have been made to develop internally reliable, appropriately normed tests for use with refugees from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, matters of conceptual and lingu...