Findings From A Specialized Child Psychiatry Unit For Care of Refugee Children in Istanbul

Objective: Turkey is the leading refugee hosting country in the world by hosting more than 3,5 million people whom almost half of them are children under age 18. We aimed to investigate psychiatric disorders that seen among kids applied to 'Migrant Children Outpatient Treatment Unit' of Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital which is speacilized to provide psychiatric care for refugee children. Method: We investigated follow up files of 41 children applied to 'Migrant Child Outpatient Treatment Unit' between May 2017 to November 2017 retrospectively. Socio-demographical data and diagnoses of children according to DSM-5 classification system were analyzed. Results: Of the 41 children 16 (30,3 %) were girl and 25 (69,7 %) were boy. The average age and time after resettlement were 9.4+4 years and 30.2+15 months respectively. Seventy five percent of parents stated that a person close to them has died, while 87.9 % reported that their children have witnessed to clashes during war. 45 % children stated to have seen a dead or injured person in Syria. Of the children 13 (31.7 %) were diagnosed with anxiety disorders, 13 (31.7 %) with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 10 (24.4 %) with major depressive disorder, 9 (22.0 %) with post-traumatic stress disorder, 8 with (19.5 %) speech disorders, 7 (17.1 %) with enuresis and 4 (9.8 %) with autism spectrum di-sorder. Discussion: Our findings indicating that refugee children suffer from a wide range of psychiatric disorders which may deteriorate their social and academical functionality and entegration to the new culture years after ressetlement

The number of war-related traumatic events is associated with increased behavioural but not emotional problems among Syrian refugee children years after resettlement

Background: Turkey is the leading refugee-hosting country in the world. However, there are few studies which investigate mental wellbeing of refugee children in Turkey. Objective: The paper aims to examine the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems and associated risk factors among Syrian refugee minors in Turkey. Methods: The research involved 85 students from 2th to 8th grades. We investigated emotional and behavioural problems with parent-reported Arabic form of Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Socio-demographical findings and children's war-related experiences were also examined. Results: The study sample consisted of 49 (63.6%) girls, and 28 (36.4%) boys (total 77) from age 7 to 17. Average time after resettlement was 29.8 +/- 11.2 (5 to 50 months) months. 66 (85.7%) children reported to had lost at least one familiar person due to the war. The mean experienced war-related traumatic events were calculated as 2.92 +/- 1.86. Total difficulty scores of 30 (39.0%) children were above the cut off values. The rates of children whose SDQ problem scores exceeded the cut-off values were as high as 45.5% (35) for Emotional problems, 64.9% (50) for Peer, 27.3% (21) for conduct and 19.5% (15) for Hyperactivity problems. Discussion: Results indicate high prevalence rates of severe traumatic experiences and possible psychiatric disorders among child survivors of Syrian war which in its seventh year now

Determinants of psychiatric disorders in children refugees in Turkey's Yazidi refugee camp

Objective: To examine the mental health states of a sample of Yazidi refugee children and adolescents who migrated from war-torn Iraq's Sinjar region and to determine the risk and protective factors for psychiatric disorders among the refugee children and adolescents. Method: The participants of this research were children and adolescents between ages 6 and 17 who live in a refugee camp in Turkey. Their parents/guardians provided written informed consents for the research. The research was approved by the Ethics Council of Sakarya University. Participants with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders were excluded from the study. Two child and adolescent psychiatrists speaking their native language interviewed and evaluated each of the participants. Collected data included socio-demographic information about previous and current living situations, Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime - Turkish Version (K-SADS-PL). Results: One hundred and thirty-six children and adolescents (76 boys, 63 girls; mean age=11.05 +/- 3.11(SD)). At the time of the assessment, 43.4% had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n=59), 27.9% depression (n=38), 10.3% nocturnal enuresis (n=14), 9.6% behavioural problems (n=7), and 5.1% anxiety disorders (n=13). Conclusions: Many of the refugee children and adolescents had developed psychiatric disorders, or are at risk for PTSD and depression. Also, the ongoing ambiguity regarding their living conditions, interruption of their education, a lack of hope for the future and anxiety regarding the ones they left behind are considered to be risk factors for the development of psychiatric and social problems in the future. Living with family members and not having losses from the immediate family are protective factors

Determinants of psychiatric disorders in children refugees in Turkey's Yazidi refugee camp

Conclusions: Many of the refugee children and adolescents had developed psychiatric disorders, or are at risk for PTSD and depression. Also, the ongoing ambiguity regarding their living conditions, interruption of their education, a lack of hope for the future and anxiety regarding the ones they left behind are considered to be risk factors for the development of psychiatric and social problems in the future. Living with family members and not having losses from the immediate family are protective factors