Longitudinal Impact of War Exposure in Syrian and Iraqi Refugee Children Resettled in the US

• In Event: War and Children

Abstract

Ongoing wars and natural disasters lead to forced migration in approximately one percent of the world population. Though recent years have brought a greater understanding of the detrimental impact of war exposure on the mental health of refugee children, little is known about the longitudinal impact of these experiences during this key developmental stage. Moreover, most studies have focused on posttraumatic stress related symptomatology, while anxiety in this population has been less explored. In this presentation, we will share recent findings from a longitudinal study of risk and resilience among Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth resettled in the state of Michigan in the US. These families were interviewed upon arrival to the US, as well as an average of two years later. 74 participants (ages 7-17 at time of arrival) provided data at both time points; about half of these participants were male (59.5%), and mean ages at Phase I and Phase II were 11.06 (SD=3.17) and 13.06 (SD=3.29), respectively. Upon arrival, anxiety was highly prevalent among these children: on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), 38% screened positive for an anxiety disorder in general. Subscale scores on the SCARED revealed 14% of the total sample screened positive for panic disorder or significant somatic symptoms; 16.3% for generalized anxiety disorder; 69.4% for separation anxiety disorder; 28.6% for social anxiety disorder; and 6.1% for school avoidance. Additionally, 4.1% of children met diagnostic thresholds for PTSD. Two years later, no significant changes in severity of symptoms related to anxiety (p=.365) or PTSD (p = .81) were observed (n = 74). While war exposure did not predict changes to PTSD symptom trajectories (p = .556), anxiety symptoms increased over time among those children reporting war exposure (B = 9.57, t(116) = 2.03, p = .045). Our findings suggest that without appropriate interventions, anxiety- and trauma-related symptoms often do not decrease. Furthermore, exposure to war trauma may lead to progressive worsening of symptoms. These findings suggest that assessing for type of trauma exposure, rather than focusing solely on migration status, may inform the need for focused attention and interventions among trauma-exposed children resettling as refugees.

Authors

• Liza Hinchey, Wayne State University College of Education

• Celine Bazzi, Wayne State University College of Education

• Raya Nashef, Wayne State University School of Medicine

• Kathleen Gorski, Wayne State University School of Medicine

• Arash Javanbakht, Wayne State University
  Presenting Author