The complexity of trauma response: a 4-year follow-up of adolescent Cambodian refugees

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to document the psychosocial adjustment of young refugees during their adolescence and its association with the war-related trauma experienced by their family before migration. METHOD: Data were collected on 57 young Khmer resettled in Montreal and followed from early to late adolescence. The associations between premigratory exposure to political violence and postmigratory mental health and social adjustment were estimated for early, mid-, and late adolescence. RESULTS: The associations between premigratory exposure to political violence and postmigratory psychosocial adjustment fluctuated over the adolescence period. Overall, the adolescents whose families were more highly exposed to political violence tended to report a more positive social adjustment and less mental health symptoms than those less exposed. CONCLUSION: The high expectations of Cambodian parents towards their children and the preservation of traditional values despite the Khmer rouge attempts to eradicate them might contribute to explain the paradoxical association between the families' exposure to political violence and the adolescents' psychosocial adjustment in the host country. Although children and adult refugees seen in clinical setting are reminders of the negative effects of adversity, resilience should be more systematically explored in community samples to further our understanding of the long-term effects of trauma.     

Children’s emotional and behavioral responses to peer provocation and early school adjustment

ABSTRACT

Even very young children think about their own and others’ behavior, including emotions. Such cognitions and emotions about the self and others convey information that is crucial to social interactions and relationships. The current study based on an integrated model of emotion processes and cognition in social information processing (SIP) aimed to explore students’ emotional and behavioral responses in SIP choices, and their association with teacher-reported early school adjustment. Two-hundred and thirty pre-school and first-grade primary school students were interviewed using the Challenging Situations Task (CST). CST assessed students’ emotional and behavioral responses to 12 unambiguous hypothetical peer provocation situations. Children’s preschool and first-grade primary teachers rated children’s early school adjustment with the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30) measure. The results revealed that children chose mainly sad and angry emotions and socially competent and passive behaviors. We found a relationship both between sad emotions and socially competent behavior choices, and between angry emotion and aggressive behavior choices. Sad emotions and aggressive behavior choices were the main predictors of school adjustment. Children’s responses to peer provocation situations varied depending on how the children interpreted the situations. The results address the importance of children’s SIP and school adjustment.     

The relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children: the role of social support and social problem-solving skills

This study investigated the relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children, with particular emphasis on the potential main and stress-buffering effects of social support and social problem-solving skills. Third through fifth graders (N = 361) completed social support and social problem-solving measures. Their parents provided ratings of stress in the child's environment and ratings of the child's behavioral adjustment. Teachers provided ratings of the children's behavioral and academic adjustment. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed significant stress-buffering effects for social support and problem-solving skills on teacher-rated behavior problems, that is, higher levels of social support and problem-solving skills moderated the relation between stressful life events and behavior problems. A similar stress-buffering effect was found for problem-solving skills on grade-point average and parent-rated behavior problems. In terms of children's competent behaviors, analyses supported a main effect model of social support and problem-solving. Possible processes accounting for the main and stress-buffering effects are discussed.     

Children's Academic and Behavioral Adjustment as a Function of the Chronicity and Proximity of Peer Rejection

The experience of peer rejection is associated with a number of concurrent and later problems for children. However, we know very little about differences in risk relative to different experiences of rejection over time. This study examined later academic and behavioral problems as a function of two dimensions by which rejection may vary over time: chronicity and temporal proximity. 622 second- through fourth-grade children (ages 7–12) were tested in the spring of 4 consecutive years. The results indicated that both chronicity and proximity directly influenced later adjustment. Taken together, the findings suggest that all levels of rejection were associated with greater absenteeism from school, and more chronic and proximal experiences of rejection were associated with elevated externalizing behavior problems and teacher-rated internalizing behavior problems. There was evidence that initial level of adjustment, gender, and development moderated the relation among these dimensions of rejection and later adjustment.     

An investigation of preschool classroom behavioral adjustment problems and social–emotional school readiness competencies

The study examined the unique relationship between multiple dimensions of classroom behavioral adjustment problems and salient social–emotional competencies for urban Head Start children. These relationships were investigated using a hierarchical model that controlled for the variance in social–emotional outcomes attributed to age, gender, and verbal ability. Classroom behavioral adjustment problems were assessed early in the year by the Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) across multiple, routine preschool classroom situations. Outcomes assessed at the end of the year included emotion regulation, peer play in the home and neighborhood context, and approaches to learning. Socially negative behavior in the classroom predicted emotional lability, maladaptive learning behaviors, and disruptive social play in the home at the end of the year. Withdrawn behavior uniquely predicted lower affective engagement in the classroom and disconnection from peers in the home context. Findings provide predictive validity for the ASPI. Implications for policy, practice and future research are discussed.     

Child victims of sexual abuse: Teachers' evaluation of emotion regulation and social adaptation in school

This study assessed the social adaptation of sexually abused children and tested whether children's emotion regulation competencies mediated the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and two outcomes of the social domain (i.e. withdrawal and social difficulties). A group of 283 child victims of sexual abuse and a comparison group composed of 60 nonabused children was recruited. Teachers completed questionnaires assessing the children's emotion regulation competencies, withdrawal, and social difficulties exhibited in the school context. Results showed that sexually abused children displayed poorer emotion regulation skills and higher levels of both withdrawal and social difficulties relative to nonabused children. CSA was associated with social difficulties and withdrawn behavior through the mediation of emotion regulation competencies. Teachers and school psychologists should be assisted in identifying children at risk of social difficulties and emotional dysregulation and schools be encouraged to adopt a trauma‐informed approach.     

Discipline Policies in Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Building an Infrastructure for Social and Academic Success

Research Findings: Preventing challenging behavior in young children is a national priority. The number of young children with behavioral problems is on the rise. Discipline policies can help early childhood programs build an infrastructure that promotes social and academic success. This study sought to document the extent to which existing early childhood program discipline policies implement the essential features for developing high-quality, system-wide (viz., program- and school-wide) discipline policies. Using the Early Childhood Discipline Policy Essentials Checklist, investigators assessed the quality of 65 discipline policies from state-licensed early childhood care and education programs. Practice or Policy: Results revealed that early childhood program discipline policies, for the most part, fail to sufficiently address those essential features known to contribute to reducing challenging behavior and promoting prosocial behavior in young children.     

Long-term effects of interparental violence and child physical maltreatment experiences on PTSD and behavior problems: A national survey of Taiwanese college students

ObjectivesThis study investigated the joint long-term impact of witnessing interparental violence and experiencing child physical maltreatment on young adults’ trauma symptoms and behavior problems. It also explored Chinese traditional beliefs as a possible contributor to young adults’ trauma and behavior.MethodsThis study used self-reporting measures to collect data from a national proportionate stratified sample of 1,924 college students in Taiwan. The sample was divided into four groups: no violence; interparental violence only; child physical maltreatment only and dual violence, to compare the combined effect of dual violence on long-term outcome with the no violence group and the one type of violence group.ResultsThe results indicated a significant association of interparental violence and child physical maltreatment, and 11.3% of participants reported witnessing partner violence between parents and experiencing physical maltreatment during childhood. Participants experiencing dual violence reported more trauma symptoms and behavior problems than did those experiencing only one form of violence or none at all. Exposure to both interparental violence and child physical maltreatment during childhood is a significant predictor of young adults’ trauma symptoms and behavior problems, after controlling for other potentially confounding risk factors. Cultural factors also play a significant role in predicting young adults’ trauma symptoms and internalizing behavior problems, after accounting for control variables and violence-related variables. Moreover, cultural factors interact significantly with dual violence experiences in predicting young adults’ externalizing behavior problems.ConclusionsThis study extended Western co-occurrence study findings with large Taiwanese community samples. The results demonstrated that dual violence experiences during childhood have long-term detrimental impact on young adults’ trauma symptoms and behavior problems. Cultural beliefs and their interaction with dual violence experiences play a significant role in young adults’ trauma symptoms and behavior problems as well.Practice implicationsThe present findings underscore the need for interventions for young adults exposed to childhood dual violence. Moreover, the findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive interventions to address the cultural factor impact on young adults’ trauma symptoms and behavior problems.     

War and conflict: addressing the psychosocial needs of child refugees

ABSTRACT

Since 2016, over 32 million children have been displaced from their homes mostly the result of war and conflict. For many children under the age of 8, a life of war and conflict is all they know. They have grown up in a world where bombings, gunfire, death, and destruction are the norm. This experience places young children at heightened risk for adverse and long-term psychosocial consequences such as anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Schools have been found to be the ideal setting for providing interventions to address the psychosocial needs of child refugees. As such, it is important that early childhood educators understand the complex needs of child refugees. The purpose of this article is to describe the psychosocial effects of war and conflict on infant and school-aged child refugees globally and help early childhood educators to recognize interventions that may be needed by these children. Recommendations for early childhood teacher educators are also included.     

Representation of self and socioemotional competence in kindergartners: differential and combined effects of attachment to mother and to father

In the present study, we examined the differential predictive power and the joint or compensatory effects of representations of child-mother and child-father attachment for children's representation of self and their socioemotional competence. The representations of attachment were assessed by an attachment story completion task, completed once for mother and once for father (in counterbalanced order). Eighty participants (40 boys and 40 girls), aged between 55 and 77 months (M = 5 years 3 months), took place in the study. The socioemotional competence (peer social competence, disruptive behavior, anxious/withdrawn behavior, and school adjustment) and behavioral manifestations of self-esteem were evaluated by the kindergarten teacher. The inner representation of self (positiveness of self, perceived competence, and social acceptance) was assessed in a subgroup of 50 children. Results showed that the relative predictive power of child-mother and child-father attachments differed according to the domain of child functioning that was assessed. More specifically, it was found that the child's positiveness of self was better predicted by the quality of the child-mother attachment representation than by the quality of the child-father attachment representation. In contrast, the child's anxious/withdrawn behavioral problems were better predicted by the quality of the child-father attachment representation than by the quality of the child-mother attachment representation. With regard to the joint effects of child-mother and child-father attachment, it was found that a secure attachment to one parent can compensate for or buffer against an insecure attachment to the other parent. However, the buffering effect was not complete.     

The Relationship between Children's Emotional and Behavioral Problems and the Social Responses of Elementary School Teachers

This study examined the relationship between children's emotional and behavioral problems and teachers' social responding. Elementary school students completed the Children's Depression Inventory and a parent completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Teachers rated children on measures of interpersonal attractiveness and personal rejection. Teachers' ratings of student interpersonal attractiveness were significantly correlated with the level of student depression, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and overall psychopathology. However, teachers' ratings of personal rejection toward students only correlated with externalizing behavior problems. Family income was also related to child adjustment and teacher ratings. Externalizing behavior problems best predicted both lower interpersonal attractiveness and increased personal rejection, even after controlling for family income. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Loneliness and Peer Relations in Young Children

Recent studies indicate that feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction can be reliably assessed with third- through sixth-grade children, and that children who are sociometrically rejected by their peers are significantly more lonely than other children. The present research was designed (a) to examine whether loneliness could be reliably assessed in a population younger than previously studied, (b) to learn whether young children who are poorly accepted by peers report elevated levels of loneliness and social dissatisfaction, (c) to assess whether young children understand the concept of loneliness, and (d) to examine the behavioral characteristics of lonely young children. Kindergarten and first-grade children (N = 440) responded to a questionnaire about feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction in school. A subset of children (N = 46) were individually interviewed to assess their understanding of loneliness. To assess sociometric status and behavior, peers were asked to respond to various sociometric measures and behavioral assessment items. Teachers also provided behavioral information about children using a newly developed instrument. Results indicated that nearly all children understood loneliness, that loneliness was reliably assessed in young children, and that poorly accepted children were more lonely than other children. In addition, children who reported the most loneliness were found to differ from others on several behavioral dimensions.     

Supportive parenting, Ecological Context, and Children's Adjustment: A seven-Year Longitudianl Study

Two major questions regarding the possible impact of early supportive parenting (SP) on children's school adjustment were addressed:(1) Does SP assessed prekindergarten predict grade 6 adjustment after controlling for early barsh parenting (HP)? (2) Does SP moderate (buffer) the impact of early family adversity on grade 6 adjustment? Parenting and family adversity data were drawn from home-visit interviews with 585 mothers conducted prekindergarten. Four SP measure were derived: mother-to-child warmth, proactive teaching, inductive discipline, and positive involvement. HP was indexed as the use of harsh, physical disciple. Family adversity indicators were socioeconomic disadvantage, family stress, and single parenthood. Children 's adjustment (behavior problems, social skills, and academic performance) in kindergarten and grade 6 was assessedvia teacher ratings and school records. SP predicted adjustment in grade 6, even after controlling for kindergarten adjustment and HP. High levels of SP mitigated the effects of family adversity on later behavior problems. These findings implicate both direct (main effect)and indirect (moderator of adversity) processes in the linkage between positive and supportive aspects of parenting and children's school adjustment.     

The Internal Working Model of the Self, Attachment, and Competence in Five-Year-Olds

The present studies examine some of the correlates of the self in the lives of young children. In Study 1, the connection is tested between young children's internal working model of self and their competence, social acceptance, behavioral adjustment, and behavioral manifestations of self-esteem. Ninety-five kindergartners aged between 51 and 76 months ( M _age= 5 years, 3 months) participated in the study. An adapted version of the Puppet Interview was used to assess the representation of self. Affective quality (positiveness) of self and openness to admit imperfections were rated independently. Results show significant and positive relations of the positiveness of self with competence and social acceptance, with behavioral adjustment to school, and with behavioral manifestations of self-esteem, all rated by the teacher. In Study 2, Bowlby's assumption was tested that the working model of self is closely intertwined with the working model of attachment to mother. Subjects were 50 children aged between 55 months and 75 months ( M _age= 5 years, 5 months). The working model of child-mother attachment was assessed through an Attachment Story Completion Task. The working model of self was measured via the Puppet Interview. Results show a positive and strong connection between the security of the child-mother attachment representation and the positiveness of self. The results of the two studies contribute to the validation of the adapted Puppet Interview. The Puppet Interview seems to be a promising instrument for assessing the representation of self in young children.     

Observed Emotional and Behavioral Indicators of Motivation Predict School Readiness in Head Start Graduates

Emotions and behaviors observed during challenging tasks are hypothesized to be valuable indicators of young children's motivation, the assessment of which may be particularly important for children at risk for school failure. The current study demonstrated reliability and concurrent validity of a new observational assessment of motivation in young children. Head Start graduates completed challenging puzzle and trivia tasks during their kindergarten year. Children's emotion expression and task engagement were assessed based on their observed facial and verbal expressions and behavioral cues. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that observed persistence and shame predicted teacher ratings of children's academic achievement, whereas interest, anxiety, pride, shame, and persistence predicted children's social skills and learning-related behaviors. Children's emotional and behavioral responses to challenge thus appeared to be important indicators of school success. Observation of such responses may be a useful and valid alternative to self-report measures of motivation at this age.     

Mediating effect of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence between parental abuse/neglect and school adjustment

The current study examined the mediating effects of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence between parental abuse/neglect and a child’s school adjustment by investigating 2070 student surveys from the Korean Child Youth Panel Study (KCYPS). A path analysis yielded the following key findings. Firstly, childhood abuse and neglect showed a significant negative and direct effect on school adjustment. It is particularly important to note that the effect of neglect was bigger than that of abuse in this study. Secondly, emotional/behavioral problems were found to partially mediate between abuse/neglect and school adjustment. Thirdly, academic competence partially mediated the effect of neglect on school adjustment, while it did not mediate the effect of abuse on school adjustment. The indirect effect of parental neglect via emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence was stronger than that of parental abuse. The influence of parental abuse and neglect on children’s school adjustments was discussed in terms of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence considering unique Korean cultural context.     

The role of different school organizational models in the psychological adaptation of refugee adolescents

Given the high number of refugee children and adolescents around the globe, it is critical to determine conditions that foster their adaptation in the receiving country. This study investigated the psychological adaptation of recently arrived adolescent refugees in Germany. We focused on whether psychological adaptation reflects the organizational approach taken by the school that refugee adolescents initially attended. School is an important context for the development and acculturation of young refugees. As in other European countries, the schooling of refugee adolescents in Germany is organized in different models: separate instruction in newcomer classes, direct immersion in regular classes, and mixed approaches. To answer our research questions, we used self-reported data from 700 refugee adolescents (12-, 14-, and 17-year-olds) in a representative survey of refugees in Germany. As indicators of their psychological adaptation, we analyzed their sense of school belonging, their emotional and behavioral problems, and their life satisfaction. Comparing them to non-refugee peers, the refugee adolescents showed similar levels of psychological adaptation, and an even higher level in the case of school belonging. Multiple regression analyses provide limited support for the assumed advantage of the mixed school organizational model: While students who initially attended a mixed approach reported higher levels of school belonging than those in other models, no differences emerged on the other indicators. We discuss the implications of our findings for the schooling of newly arrived refugees.

     

Posttraumatic stress disorder and emotion dysregulation among Syrian refugee children and adolescents resettled in Lebanon and Jordan

BackgroundSince the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, many people, including children and adolescents, have fled their homes into neighboring countries. Little research exists on the psychosocial adjustment of refugee children and adolescents resettled in Lebanon and Jordan.ObjectiveThis study investigated the prevalence and predictors of PTSD and emotion dysregulation in Syrian refugee children and adolescents who resettled in Lebanon and Jordan. It was hypothesized that a combination of pre-trauma variables (age and gender), trauma-specific variables (traumatic events and time spent in host country, and host country), and post-trauma variables (coping strategies, family relationships, and school environment) would be associated with PTSD and emotion dysregulation.Participants and SettingParticipants were 1000 Syrian refugee children and adolescents aged 7–18 years attending formal and non-formal schools representing various governorates in Lebanon and Jordan.MethodsThe trauma exposure scale, DSM-IV criteria for the assessment of PTSD, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form, Kidcope, Family relationship scales, and school environment scale were administered in an interview format with children and adolescents at school by two trained psychologists. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to predict PTSD whereas hierarchical multiple regression was used to predict emotion dysregulation.ResultsResults indicated that 45.6% of the refugees have developed PTSD with excessive risk for comorbidity with emotion dysregulation. Emotion dysregulation was reported by older refugee children and adolescents. The prevalence of PTSD was higher in refugee children and adolescents who had resettled in Lebanon than for those who had resettled in Jordan. Refugee children and adolescents who were exposed to higher levels of war atrocities evidenced the greatest prevalence of PTSD and emotion dysregulation. PTSD symptomatology and emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents varied according to coping styles, family relationships, and school environment. Both decreased significantly with the passage of time spent in host country.ConclusionsThe results may be used to formulate cognitive–behavioral coping interventions that can lead to optimal developmental outcomes in the posttrauma environment.     

Preschool teachers and classroom aides: Same context,similar perceptions of children's behaviors?

This study explored the correspondence and differences between school staff perceptions of preschool children's social skills and behavior problems. One hundred preschoolers were assessed by 14 pairs of teachers and classroom aides with the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales – 2^nd Edition (PKBS‐2 Portuguese version). Indexes of agreement and disagreement were calculated. Risk levels and item analyses of PKBS‐2 scores according to both informants' ratings were compared. A higher level of agreement was obtained for social skills scores than for behavior problems (mean correlation of .62). No statistically significant differences between informants were obtained for the risk levels, and item analyses revealed a similar pattern of behaviors that were most and least rated by both informants. Results indicate that the classroom aides' perspective on preschool assessment represents a reliable input, which justifies that they network with teachers in addressing preschoolers' social‐emotional and behavioral challenges.