Many refugee children experience trauma in early childhood. Effective, tailored interventions are needed to improve refugee children's access to preventive mental health. We interviewed refugee-serving stakeholders and parents participating in an evidence-based preventive mental health and wellness intervention adapted for Afghan refugee children…

Children from refugee backgrounds often experience multiple traumatic events and schools are uniquely placed to support these students. This study examined the experiences of teachers in supporting students from refugee backgrounds who have experienced trauma. Six teachers participated in interviews which were analysed using thematic analysis.…

Refugee children are less likely than their non-refugee peers to receive timely diagnoses and treatment for mental and/or behavioral health problems, despite facing multiple risk factors including potential exposure to trauma during premigration, migration, and postmigration experiences. Social-Emotional Learning offers preventive mental health…

This study investigated the relationship between traumatic life stress, trust, and prosocial behavior as a positive mental health outcome in Syrian refugee children in Canada. Trust is a resilience factor shown to promote adjustment after resettlement. The specific goals of the study were to test the influence of refugee children's traumatic life…

School nurses are often one of the first healthcare providers to interface with newly arrived immigrant and refugee children, i.e., "newly arrived children" (Johnson et al., 2017; McGuire, 2014; McNeely et al., 2017). School-based services are readily accessible to most families, offering a hub for assessment, brief intervention, and…

This study examined parents and teachers' strategies to develop conflict resolution skills among naturalized refugee pre-primary children in Tanzania. A total of 8 school principals, 18 teachers, and 15 parents -- by then serving in the Parent-School Association -- were selected on the virtue of their positions. Findings revealed that pre-primary…

Given the Canadian government's focus on refugee resettlement in light of global crises, many schools are receiving increased enrolment of students who have experienced the trauma associated with living in, and fleeing from, regions experiencing armed conflict. As well as the effects of complex trauma, children from these backgrounds will likely…

The number of migrants around the world has increased over the last decade, which can be attributed, in part, to increased violence from wars in the Middle East (Böhm et al., 2018; Hahnefeld, 2021; Reavell & Fazil, 2017; USA for UNHCR, 2022). About half of refugees are children (Amnesty International, 2022). These children are at risk of…

Although the number of Syrians affected by the civil war rises, little work has been done to address the needs of Syrian refugee children with autism spectrum disorder. This research aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally sensitive intervention developed specifically for children with autism spectrum disorder affected by…

In August 2017, almost a million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to escape violence and persecution in Myanmar; 55 percent of them were children. BRAC, one of the largest nongovernmental organizations in the world, operates an initiative called the Humanitarian Play Lab model for children ages 0-6 in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.…

Refugees often experience significant psychological distress, but many do not receive necessary services. Among children and youth, most mental health services are provided by schools, so schools are an important service provider for young refugees. We conducted a systemic literature review to synthesize and evaluate the existing research on…

In a context of increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers globally, recognition of the importance of the school environment for promoting successful settlement outcomes and inclusion for refugee-background young people is growing. Yet schools may be poorly equipped to recognise and respond to the multiple challenges faced by children and…

The Wellesley Centers for Women recently began a collaboration with one of the major stakeholders in that needs assessment, the Women for Women Coalition, to develop and pilot an ongoing family intervention in New Hampshire. The resulting collaborative project, Africans United for Stronger Families, includes a support group for parents and an…

Purpose: This review examines the effectiveness of narrative exposure therapy (NET) , a short-term intervention for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of mass violence and torture, who have often suffered multiple traumas over several years. Methods: Randomized control trials were reviewed if they measured PTSD outcome and were…

This paper focuses on the social and emotional needs of children and young people who are refugees. It was inspired by casework undertaken by the author involving a 13-year-old boy who was a refugee from Montenegro. A vignette of the case is presented in addition to a review of relevant literature to illustrate and discuss the various sources of…