Outcomes of bullying and intervention strategies for migrant and refugee children in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

Özlem Çiçek Doğan, Taghreed Salameh, Seda Güney and Tuğba Şahin Tokatlıoğlu

Children and Youth Services Review, 2025, vol. 176, issue C

Abstract: Migrant and refugee children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are highly vulnerable to peer bullying, adversely affecting their mental health and well-being. Despite its significant impact, research on bullying outcomes and effective school-based interventions for this group remains limited. The aim of this review to examine the health outcomes of peer bullying among migrant and refugee children in LMICs and identify school-based interventions to address bullying. A systematic search was conducted in six databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest Dissertations) using keywords including, but not limited to, child*, adolescent*, refugee*, immigrant*, migrant*, bully*, outcome*, consequence* and intervention*. Studies published in English between 2014 and 2024 in LMICs, as classified by the World Bank, were included. Data extraction followed a standardized JBI-recommended charting tool to ensure accuracy. Of 639 screened studies, 14 met inclusion criteria. Participants, aged 8 to 18 years, included migrant, immigrant, and refugee children in school and community settings. Overall findings showed bullying was strongly associated with adverse mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress, and self-harm. Resilience and social support were key protective factors. However, interventions were limited; one study reported Jungian art therapy effectively reduced bullying among Afghan refugee children. Peer bullying severely impacts the mental health of migrant and refugee children in LMICs. There is a critical need for culturally sensitive, resilience-focused interventions and enhanced social support systems. Future research should explore physical health impacts and cyberbullying in this population.

Keywords: Adolescent; Bullying; Children; Health Outcomes; Migrant; Refugee; Intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074092500266X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:176:y:2025:i:c:s019074092500266x

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108383

Access Statistics for this article

Children and Youth Services Review is currently edited by Duncan Lindsey

More articles in Children and Youth Services Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().