Refugee Children’s Social–Emotional Capacities: Links to Mental Health upon Resettlement and Buffering Effects on Pre-Migratory Adversity

Ruth Speidel, Emma Galarneau, Danah Elsayed, Shahdah Mahhouk, Joanne Filippelli, Tyler Colasante and Tina Malti
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Ruth Speidel: Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Emma Galarneau: Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Danah Elsayed: Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Shahdah Mahhouk: Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Joanne Filippelli: Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Tyler Colasante: Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Tina Malti: Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Refugee children who experience severe pre-migratory adversity often show varying levels of mental health upon resettlement. Thus, it is critical to identify the factors that explain which refugee children experience more vs. less healthy outcomes. The present study assessed child social–emotional capacities (i.e., emotion regulation, sympathy, optimism, and trust) as potential moderators of associations between child, parental, and familial pre-migratory adversities and child mental health (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms) upon resettlement. Participants were N = 123 five- to 12-year-old Syrian refugee children and their mothers living in Canada. Children and mothers reported their pre-migratory adverse life experiences, and mothers reported their children’s current social–emotional capacities, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing symptoms. Greater familial (i.e., the sum of children’s and their mother’s) pre-migratory adversity was associated with higher child internalizing and externalizing symptoms upon resettlement. Higher emotion regulation and optimism were associated with lower internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and higher sympathy was associated with lower externalizing symptoms. In contrast, higher trust was associated with higher internalizing symptoms. Finally, higher child optimism buffered against the positive association between familial pre-migratory adversity and child internalizing symptoms. In sum, select social–emotional capacities may serve as potential protective factors that support mental health and buffer against the deleterious effects of pre-migratory adversity in refugee children.

Keywords: refugee children; adverse life experiences; social–emotional development; mental health; internalizing symptoms; externalizing symptoms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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