NCJ Number
204315
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 249-263
Editor(s)
Richard D. Krugman,
John M. Leventhal
Date Published
February 2001
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the behavioral and emotional problems of former unaccompanied refugee children who had repatriated to Vietnam from refugee centers in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
Abstract
In every part of the world, displaced people and refugees can be described as suffering from traumas and stresses, persecution and danger, losses and isolation, and violent change. Research has shown that refugee children and adolescents are at exceptionally high risk of developing mental health problems, and the effects of war and trauma on children who are separated from their families have been documented since World War II. Little research has been done on the well being of refugee children after the conflict or of children who left the camps and were reunited with their families in their country of origin. The aims of this study were to examine the psychological and social problems of Vietnamese refugees who had lived in detention camps as unaccompanied minors, after their repatriation to Vietnam, and the factors that influenced their outcome. The children were interviewed 3-4 years after they had returned to Vietnam. The sample consisted of 455 Vietnamese children, aged 10 to 22 years. Of these, 238 (52.3 percent) were formerly unaccompanied minors housed in detention centers in Hong Kong and 217 (47.7 percent) were a comparison group who had not been refugees. Data were collected using the Achenbach Youth Self-Report (YSR), the Cowen Perceived Self-Efficacy scale, a Social Support scale, and an Exposure to Trauma scale. Data analysis revealed no significant difference between the two groups of children on the YSR total score. The former refugee children had significantly lower scores on the YST Externalizing Scale and failed marginally to report significantly higher scores on the YST Internalizing Scale than the local children. The study showed that the perceived self-efficacy, number of social supports, and experience of social support did not differ between the two groups of children. Further analysis showed that a significant interaction between the immigration status of the children and the children’s subjective perception of their current standard of living explained the differences in the YSR. These results suggest that the experience of living without parents in a refugee camp does not lead to increased behavioral and emotional problems in the immediate years after repatriation. Tables and references