Tag: refugees

Refugee Children’s Experience in England and Denmark

The article titled “How do refugee children experience their new situation in England and Denmark? Implications for educational policy and practice.” was  written by Sara Amalie O’Toole Thommessen and Brenda K.Todd.The article explains the research method they plan to use while interviewing children who were refugees in England and Denmark to find the psychosocial factors that they were faced with.

The study found that the main aspects that the refugee in England were challenged with and sought to overcome the transition to the English language and the challenges they faced because of their lack of English knowledge, motivation to succeed instead of letting the comments or actions of others bring them down, and to gain strength through social support and empowerment (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238).

O’Toole Thommessen & Todd conduced research from individuals who moved to Denmark as a child refugee, and learned that they struggled with the language barrier, gaining strength through social support, for adults to notice or understand the needs of the child and the integration of the two words into one (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238).

The researchers discovered that the refugee children in England were faced with more racism and stereotypes, which impacted the confidence and mental status of the children (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238). The biggest issue the researchers discovered for the refugee children who lived in Denmark was the merging of their two words, their home and their life in Denmark, which caused for identity issues and felt like a foreigner in their home country since they were viewed as part Danish (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238). The most interesting discovery from the research was that in both countries, the refugee children longed for social and educational support (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238).

The takeaway that was discovered from this study is the need for more support from the community the refugee children live in, as it is sometimes made difficult for them to adjust. The researchers suggested the need for more training on how to handle refugee children to help them better adjust and feel supported. The researchers believe that teachers should receive this training, as the most social interaction and support received is in school. If we took the initiative to support and be there for these children, their transition would be much smoother.

 

Sources:

O’Toole Thommessen, Sara Amalie, and Brenda K. Todd. “How Do Refugee Children Experience Their New Situation in England and Denmark? Implications for Educational Policy and Practice.” Children & Youth Services Review, vol. 85, Jan. 2018, pp. 228–238. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.025.

Mental health outcomes among Arab refugees, immigrants, and U.S. born Arab Americans in Southeast Michigan: a cross-sectional study

This article discusses the mental health state of Arab immigrants, refugees, and U.S. born Arab Americans. Arab refugees and immigrants that are living in the United States may be exposed to political, economic, social, and environmental stressors that could very much affect their mental health. Researchers wanted to conduct research on this topic due to the lack of information on the mental health of Arab immigrants, refugees, and U.S. born Arab American. This study was conducted in Southeast Michigan and the purpose is to measure depression and anxiety levels. They also wanted to know if depression differed between the three resident status (immigrant, refugee, U.S. born).

The researchers were able to conduct a cross-sectional study in which they sampled 275 adults who identify as Arabs that are living in Southeast Michigan. They were able to collect data by administrating questionaries from August to November 2015. The questionnaire that was distributed had a series of questions that helped the researchers determine if any of the Arab participants had depression or anxiety.

Based on their research, all three groups (immigrants, refugees, and U.S. born) displayed high levels of depression and anxiety. Refugees ended up having higher levels of depression and anxiety than immigrants and U.S. born Arab. Refugees reported higher levels of depression and anxiety because of their situation. They were forced to leave their homes unexpectedly and to go to a completely different country, where they are not fully accepted as first-class citizens there. Not only does this make complete sense but the results for refugees were expected to be higher than the other two groups.

Pampati, Sanjana, et al. “Mental Health Outcomes among Arab Refugees, Immigrants, and US Born Arab Americans in Southeast Michigan: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 18, Dec. 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2018-62858-001&site=eds-live&scope=site.