The investigation of change mechanisms in trauma-focused interventions for traumatized refugee minors
Final Report Abstract
The aim of this project was to investigate potential change mechanisms in a group-based trauma-focused treatment for refugee youths in schools. The planned study was part of the large project “Refugees Well School” which is carried out in several European countries with Prof. Derluyn at Ghent University as principal investigator. However, the proposed project could not be carried out due to difficulties in recruitment, assessment and intervention implementation as schools had to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with my supervisor Prof. Derluyn and her team, I started developing a new work plan for the funding period (October 1st- December 31st 2020) that would still be in line with my research focus and that would be feasible despite pandemic conditions (Belgium was in strict lockdown during the funding period). We developed not only one, but three new projects which currently are or will soon be submitted to high ranked peer-reviewed journals. The first project is similar to the planned project in the proposal. Together with the international and multi-professional team of the “Refugees Well School” project, I investigated the mental health of young refugees, migrants and non-migrants, and evaluated the impact of discrimination and social support on mental health. The two other projects were developed within the project “CHILDMOVE”. In one project, I was able to investigate trauma, daily stressors (social and basic needs) and mental health (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder) in URMs who are currently detained in Libya. In the other project, I looked at the change in mental health and traumatic experiences over 18 months in a large sample of URMs who were currently on the move. The most important findings of these projects are multi-faceted. Firstly, we found that mental health profiles differ between newcomers (refugees), migrants and non-migrants but all are negatively affected by discrimination, which was oftentimes experienced on a daily basis. Secondly, we found that refugee minors who are detained in Libya report dramatically high rates of trauma and daily stressors, which severely hamper their social, cognitive and emotional development. Thirdly, our results in the last project revealed that refugee minors on the move in several European countries face not only various traumatic experiences but also daily stressors on a daily basis, which results in an increase of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Taken together, the results of these studies are alarming, as they highlight the needs of one of the most vulnerable populations worldwide: unaccompanied refugee minors. These results call for action not only on a psychological or sociological level (e.g. implementing mental health care in refugee camps), but also on a political level (e.g. re-evaluation of border safety for refugee minors in Libya). More research on meeting the needs of this population can be inspired by these projects. The dissemination of study results in (social) media will be started after submission in peer-reviewed journals by the “CHILDMOVE” and “Refugees Well School” teams.
Publications
- (2021). Social determinants of the mental health of young refugees and migrants. European Journal of Health Psychology (2022), 29, pp. 61-73
Verelst, A., Devlieger, I., Pfeiffer, E., Spaas, C., Kankaapää, R., Peltonen, K., Väskä, M., Soye, E., Watters, C., Osman, F., Durbeej, N., Sarkadi, A., Andersen, A., Primdahl, N., & Derluyn, I.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000097)
