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Bernhardt K, Le Beherec S, Uppendahl JR, Fleischmann M, Klosinski M, Rivera LM, Samaras G, Kenney M, Müller R, Nehring I, Mall V, Hahnefeld A. Young children's development after forced displacement: a systematic review. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2024; 18:20. [PMID: 38303022 PMCID: PMC10835848 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-024-00711-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To examine the impact of displacement experiences on 0- to 6-year-old children's social-emotional and cognitive development, as well as influencing factors on reported outcomes. STUDY DESIGN We systematically searched MEDline, Psyndex, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Elsevier, TandF, Oxford Journal of Refugee Studies, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, and Canada's Journal on Refugees for existing literature regarding social-emotional and cognitive outcomes in children directly exposed to forced displacement due to political violence. Results were synthesized in the discussion and displayed using harvest plots. RESULTS Our search generated 9,791 articles of which 32 were selected for review and evaluation according to NICE criteria. Included studies provided results for 6,878 forcibly displaced children. Measured outcomes were diverse and included areas such as peer relations, prosocial behavior, family functioning, play, intelligence, learning performance, and language development. Repeated exposure to adverse experiences, separation from parents, parental distress, as well as duration and quality of resettlement in the host country were reported as influencing factors in the reviewed studies. CONCLUSION As protective factors like secure and stable living conditions help to promote children's development, we call for policies that enhance participation in the welcoming society for refugee families. Early integration with low-threshold access to health and educational facilities can help to mitigate the wide-ranging negative consequences of forced displacement on young children's development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Bernhardt
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
| | - Saskia Le Beherec
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Kbo Kinderzentrum, Heiglhofstrasse 65, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Jana R Uppendahl
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Melia Fleischmann
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias Klosinski
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Luisa M Rivera
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Georgia Samaras
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martha Kenney
- Department of Women and Gender Studies, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ruth Müller
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- School of Management, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ina Nehring
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Volker Mall
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Kbo Kinderzentrum, Heiglhofstrasse 65, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Andrea Hahnefeld
- Chair of Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Kbo Kinderzentrum, Heiglhofstrasse 65, 81377, Munich, Germany
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Bernhardt K, Le Beherec S, Uppendahl J, Baur MA, Klosinski M, Mall V, Hahnefeld A. Exploring Mental Health and Development in Refugee Children Through Systematic Play Assessment. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2023:10.1007/s10578-023-01584-z. [PMID: 37624478 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-023-01584-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
To evaluate a standardized play observation as a measure of young children's mental health and development in a clinical and refugee population. We conducted individual play observations with 70 refugee children aged 3- to 6-years and compared them to a clinical group of 111 age-matched children regarding their level of play development, social interaction during play, traumatic re-enactments, and emotionless-cold play. Additionally, we assessed children's mental health, social-emotional development and markers of adversity by parent and educator report as well as their IQ-test scores and learning performance and related these factors to the play variables. Play variables were significantly correlated with IQ-test scores (r = 0.184, p = 0.037), learning performance (r = 0.208, p = 0.010) and vocabulary (r = 0.208, p = 0.021) in the comparison group and with social-emotional development in educator report (r = 0.368, p = 0.011), time spent in Germany (r = 0.342, p < 0.001) and parental distress (r = - 0.292, p = 0.034) in the refugee group. Children with more parent-reported adverse experiences showed less social-interactive play in the overall sample (r = - 0.178, p = 0.011). Our child-centered approach to standardized play observation augments information obtained from parent and educator reports and can provide valuable insights in subgroups where other commonly used tests are not available or applicable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Saskia Le Beherec
- Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- kbo Kinderzentrum, Munich, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Volker Mall
- Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- kbo Kinderzentrum, Munich, Germany
| | - Andrea Hahnefeld
- Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- kbo Kinderzentrum, Munich, Germany
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