Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2008

Open Access 01-12-2008 | Research

Resilience and vulnerability among refugee children of traumatized and non-traumatized parents

Authors: Atia Daud, Britt af Klinteberg, Per-Anders Rydelius

Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health | Issue 1/2008

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The aim of the study was to explore resilience among refugee children whose parents had been traumatized and were suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Methods

The study comprised 80 refugee children (40 boys and 40 girls, age range 6–17 yrs), divided into two groups. The test group consisted of 40 refugee children whose parents had been tortured in Iraq before coming to Sweden. In accordance with DSM-IV criteria, these children were further divided in two sub-groups, those who were assessed as having PTSD-related symptoms (n = 31) and those who did not have PTSD-related symptoms (n = 9). The comparison group consisted of 40 children from Egypt, Syria and Morocco whose parents had not been tortured. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd edn. (WISC-III), Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents- Revised (DICA-R), Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms checklist (PTSS), "I Think I am" (ITIA) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to assess IQ; PTSD-related symptoms; self-esteem; possible resilience and vulnerability.

Results

Children without PTSD/PTSS in the traumatized parents group had more favorable values (ITIA and SDQ) with respect to total scores, emotionality, relation to family, peer relations and prosocial behavior than the children in the same group with PTSD/PTSS and these values were similar to those the children in the comparison group (the non-traumatized parents group). The children in the non-traumatized parents group scored significantly higher on the IQ test than the children with traumatized parents, both the children with PTSD-related symptoms and those without PTSD-related symptoms.

Conclusion

Adequate emotional expression, supportive family relations, good peer relations, and prosociality constituted the main indicators of resilience. Further investigation is needed to explore the possible effects of these factors and the effects of IQ. The findings of this study are useful for treatment design in a holistic perspective, especially in planning the treatment for refugee children, adolescents and their families.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Daud A, Skoglund E, Rydelius P-A: Children in families of torture victims: Transgenerational transmission of parents' traumatic experiences to their children. International Journal of Social Welfare. 2005, 14: 23-32. 10.1111/j.1468-2397.2005.00336.x.CrossRef
2.
Yehuda R, Teicher MH, Seckl J, Grossman RA, Moris A, Bierer LM: Parental Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as a Vulnerability Factor for Low Cortisol Trait in Offspring of Holocaust Survivors. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2007, 64: 1040-1048. 10.1001/archpsyc.64.9.1040.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Rydelius P-A: Children of alcoholic fathers, their social adjustment and their health status over 20 years. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica. 1981, Suppl 286
4.
Rydelius P-A: Children of alcoholic parents: at risk to experience violence and to develop violent behaviour. Children and Violence. Edited by: Chiland C, Young JG. 1994, London: Jason Aronson Inc, 72-90.
5.
Dumont M, Provost MA: Resilience in Adolescents: Protective Role of Social Support, Coping Strategies, Self-Esteem, and Social Activities on Experience of Stress and Depression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 1999, 28 (3): 343-363. 10.1023/A:1021637011732.CrossRef
6.
Otto MW, Henin A, Hirshfeld-Becker D, Pollack MH, Beiderman J, Rosenbaum JF: Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following media Exposure to tragic events: Impact of 9/11 on children at risk for anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 2007, 21: 888-902. 10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.10.008.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Hieu MN, Thao NL: Stressful Life Events, Culture, and Violence. Journal of Immigrant Health. 2007, 9: 75-84. 10.1007/s10903-006-9018-6.CrossRef
8.
Garmezy N, Masten AS, Tellegen A: The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychopathology. Child Development. 1984, 55: 97-111. 10.2307/1129837.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Gordon KA: The self-concept and motivational patterns of resilient Africa American high school students. Journal of Black Psychology. 1995, 21: 239-255. 10.1177/00957984950213003.CrossRef
10.
Crawford E, Wright MO, Masten A: Resilience and spirituality in youth. The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence. Edited by: Roehlkepartain EC, King PE, Wagener L, Benson PL. 2005, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 355-370.
11.
Garmezy N: Stress, competence, and development: Continuities in the study of schizophrenic adults, children vulnerable to psychopathology, and the search for stress-resistant children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 1987, 57 (2): 159-174.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Rutter M, Pickles A, Murray R, Eaves L: Testing hypotheses on specific Environmental causal effects on behavior. Psychological Bulletin. 2001, 127: 291-324. 10.1037/0033-2909.127.3.291.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Werner EE, Smith RS: Overcoming the Odds: High Risk Children from Birth to Adulthood. 1992, New York: Cornell University Press
14.
Brooks R: Children at risk: Fostering resilience and hope. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 1994, 64 (4): 545-553. 10.1037/h0079565.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Sandberg S, Rutter M, Pickles A, McGuinness D, Angold A: Do high-threat life events really provoke the onset of psychiatric disorder in children?. Journal of Child Psychology and Pyschiatry. 2001, 42 (4): 523-532. 10.1017/S0021963001007259.CrossRef
16.
Rutter M, Giller H, Hagell A: Antisocial Behavior by Young People. 1998, New York & London: Cambridge University Press
17.
Aldwin C: Stress, coping and development: An integrative perspective. 1994, The Guilford Press, New York
18.
Grotberg E: Tapping your inner strength: How to find the resilience to deal with anything. 1999, New Harbinger Inc, Oakland, CA
19.
Kobasa SC: Stressful life events, personality, and health: an inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1979, 37 (1): 1-11. 10.1037/0022-3514.37.1.1.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Kliewer W, Sandier IN: Locus of Control and Self-Esteem as Moderators of Stressor-Symptom Relations in Children and Adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 1992, 20 (4): 393-413. 10.1007/BF00918984.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Bartone PT: Hardiness protects against war-related stress in army reserve forces. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practise and Research. 1999, 51: 72-82. 10.1037/1061-4087.51.2.72.CrossRef
22.
King DW, King LA, Foy W, Keane TM, Fairbank JA: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in a national sample of female and male Vietnam veterans. Risk factors, war-zone stressors, and resilience- recovery variables. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1999, 108: 164-170. 10.1037/0021-843X.108.1.164.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Ahmad A: Childhood Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. A developmental and Cross-Cultural Approach. PhD thesis No. 874. A Comprehensive Summary of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine. 1999
24.
Ahmad A, Sundelin-Wahlsten V, Sofi MA, Qahar JA, von Knorring AL: Reliability and validity of a child-specific cross-cultural instrument for assessing posttraumatic stress disorder. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000, 9 (4): 285-94. 10.1007/s007870070032.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Goodman R: Psychometric Properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2001, 40: 1337-1345. 10.1097/00004583-200111000-00015.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Brigerstam P: Som jag ser mig själv – en metod för studiet av äldre personers självvärdering. (As I see myself – a method for studying older people's self-assessment). Manual. Gerontologiskt centrum. 1992, B-rapportVI: 2
27.
Coppersmith S: The antecedents of self-esteem. 1967, Freeman W.H
28.
Piers E: The Piers-Harris children's self concept scale. Research Monograph 1. 1977, Nashville, Tennessee: Counselor Recordings and Tests
29.
Rosenberg M: Society and the adolescent self-image. 1965, New Jersey: Princeton University Press
30.
Ouvinen-Birgerstam P: Jag tycker jag är. [I Think I Am]. 1985, Stockholm: Psykologi-Förlaget
31.
Abd-el-Gawad G, Abrahamsson K, Hellström AL, Hjalmas K, Hanson E: Health related quality of life after 5–12 years of continent Ileal Urosotomy (Kock Reservoir) in children and adolescents. Sardinian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. 2002, 36: 40-45. 10.1080/003655902317259355.CrossRef
32.
Edbom T, Lichtenstein P, Granlund M, Larsson J-O: Long-term relationships between symptoms of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and self-esteem in a prospective longitudinal study of twins. Acta Peadiatrica. 2006, 95 (6): 650-657. 10.1080/08035250500449866.CrossRef
33.
von Essen L, Enskär K, Kruger A, Larsson B, Sjöden PO: Self-esteem, depression and anxiety among Swedish children and Adolescents on and off cancer treatment. Acta Peadiatrica. 2000, 89: 229-236. 10.1080/080352500750028889.CrossRef
34.
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR). 2000, Washington, DC: American psychiatric Association, 4
35.
Cohen J: Summary of Practice Parameters for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 1998, 37 (3): 997-1001.
36.
Ferren PM: Comparing Perceived Self-Efficacy among Adolescent Bosnian and Croatian Refugees with and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 1999, 12 (3): 405-420. 10.1023/A:1024749118463.CrossRefPubMed
37.
af Klinteberg B, Lang S, Freidenfelt J, Alm PO: Risk indicators and stress situations as related to pursuant disinhibitory psychosocial disturbances. Personality and extreme stress. Edited by: Strelau J. Warsaw: Gdansk Psychology Publishing, 83-99.
38.
Pilowsky DJ, Zybert A, Valhov D: Resilient Children of Injection Drug Users. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2004, 43 (11): 1372-1379. 10.1097/01.chi.0000138355.29099.2a.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Antonovsky A: Janforum: locus of control theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 1992, 17: 1014-1015. 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1992.tb02032.x.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Antonovsky A: The salutogenic model as a theory to guide health promotion. Health Promotion International. 1996, 11: 453-470. 10.1093/heapro/11.1.11.CrossRef
41.
Antonovsky A: Health, stress, and coping: New perspectives on mental and physical well-being. 1979, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
42.
Antonovsky A: Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well. 1987, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
43.
Goldstein S, Brooks RB: Handbook of Resilience in Childhood. 2006, New York: Springer Science and Business Media, Inc
Metadata
Title
Resilience and vulnerability among refugee children of traumatized and non-traumatized parents
Authors
Atia Daud
Britt af Klinteberg
Per-Anders Rydelius
Publication date
01-12-2008
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health / Issue 1/2008
Electronic ISSN: 1753-2000
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-2-7

Other articles of this Issue 1/2008

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2008 Go to the issue

Research

Correlates of loneliness among university students

Research

Conduct disorder in girls: neighborhoods, family characteristics, and parenting behaviors

Review

Off-label psychopharmacologic prescribing for children: History supports close clinical monitoring

Research

Assessing the diagnostic accuracy of the identification of hyperkinetic disorders following the introduction of government guidelines in England

Research

Cognitive and affective perspective-taking in conduct-disordered children high and low on callous-unemotional traits

Research

Long-term outcome and prognosis of dissociative disorder with onset in childhood or adolescence