Research Paper Title
Traumatic experiences of conditional refugee children and adolescents and predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder: data from Turkey.
Background
The researchers aimed to determine traumatic events, mental health problems and predictors of PTSD in a sample of conditional refugee children.
Methods
The sociodemographic features, chief complaints, traumatic experiences and psychiatric diagnoses according to DSM-5 were evaluated retrospectively.
Results
20.7% (n = 70) of children experienced the armed conflict or exposed to firefights at their country of origin. Most common diagnoses were anxiety disorders (n = 82, 24.3%), major depressive disorder (n = 52, 15.4%) and PTSD (n = 43, 12.7%). Age, number of traumatic experiences, explosion and sexual violence are the most important predictors for PTSD.
Conclusions
The results suggest that the number of traumas exposed as well as their nature predicted PTSD diagnosis. Refugee children have increased risk for psychiatric problems after migration and resettlement underlining the importance of an adequate follow-up for mental health and ensuring social support networks.
Reference
Yektas, C., Erman, H. & Tufan, A.E. (2021) Traumatic experiences of conditional refugee children and adolescents and predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder: data from Turkey. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2021.1880634. Online ahead of print.