Poster #112 - The Displacement Experiences Questionnaire: A Measure of Parent-Child Perimigration Stress Exposure

• In Event: Poster Session 18

Abstract

Background
Between 2010 and 2020 approximately 600,860 refugees settled in the United States, of them 31% were children under the age of 14 (Monin, 2021). A systemic review of literature revealed that limited tools exist to measure the array of highly stressful experiences that caregivers with young children experience during perimigration, the period between fleeing a country of origin and resettling in a new country. In order to address the gaps in understanding, a new measure indexing perimigration stress events specific to caregivers and children was developed, referred to as the Displacement Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ). Here, we will discuss the community-based participatory development process, descriptive pilot data and implications for this measure.
Methods
A series of steps spanning expert consultation, systematic review, and community input informed an initial categorization of adverse experience domains common to children and caregivers fleeing war and conflict zones (Miles et al., 2019). In the first phase, a set of 19 questions designed to capture these core experiences were pretested in a focus group and key informant interviews (n=10) with resettled Syrian and Iraqi caregivers. Participants rated and discussed the clarity and relevance of each question and introduced new content. In the second phase, the DEQ was piloted in a community-engaged survey study (n=75) examining refugee caregiver-child mental health in resettlement. Because the measure was used in a larger cross-cultural sample, this piloting included a test question after each item asking if, and if so why, the question may be unclear or irrelevant to the participant's experience. In both phases, community-embedded cultural navigators informed the research design implemented protocols, and aided in interpreting and contextualizing findings.
Results
Six displacement stress (DS) exposure domains were chosen to measure poor living conditions; decreased opportunities, resources, and services; trauma, victimization, and security concerns; ongoing migration and family separation; discrimination; and detention and asylum-seeking. A total of 31 questions were retained in the DEQ following pretesting and implementation in the pilot sample. Twenty-one questions captured caregiver DS exposure and ten questions captured child DS exposure. On average, parents reported 5.5 parent stress events (Range =0-11) and an average of 1.4 child stress events (Range =0-6).
Discussion
The development of the DEQ highlights a collaborative and community-embedded approach to the measurement of adversity in displaced populations. As a next step, the measure should undergo validation testing in a larger sample of families from a variety of countries of origin. This new tool holds potential to catalogue stress exposure in caregivers with young children across perimigration and to identify families facing greater levels of vulnerability.

Authors

• Lydia J. Mathis, University of Denver
  Presenting Author

• Elly Miles, Urban Institute

• Julie Olomi

• Anne DePrince, University of Denver

• Sarah E Watamura, University of Denver