Associations between family-level adversity and society-level trauma with emotional and behavioural problems amongst children of West Papuan refugees

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 909 - 920
• Main Authors: Tay, Alvin Kuowei, Rees, Susan, Kareth, Moses, Mohsin, Mohammed, Tam, Natalino, Silove, Derrick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abuse; Abused children; Adverse; Adverse childhood experiences; Adversity; Aggression; Aggressiveness; Behavior problems; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child abuse & neglect; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Children; Emotional abuse; Emotional behavior; Emotions; Epidemiology; Familial factors; Families & family life; Genetic crosses; Health status; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Original Contribution; Parents & parenting; Path analysis; Population studies; Poverty; Psychiatry; Psychological trauma; Refugees; Self report; Sex crimes; Sexual abuse; Social factors; Social problems; Society; Stress; Teenagers; Trauma; Violence; Refugee; Transgenerational; Abuse; Adverse childhood experiences; Violence; Children and adolescent mental health
• ISSN: 1018-8827; 1435-165X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00787-020-01569-6

Few studies have examined associations between family-level parental factors, society-level violence, and the emotional and behavioral status of children of refugee populations. Our study used cross-sectional epidemiological data to test a theoretical model of these key associations amongst a community sample of children ( n  = 162) of West Papuan refugees living in remote town in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a setting of endemic violence and poverty. Culturally adapted instruments were used to assess three types of intra-familial factors (adverse parenting, physical and/or sexual abuse and emotional abuse) and three types of society-level violence and stressors (exposure to systematic violence, peer violence, living difficulties). Emotional and behavioural problems were assessed using the Youth Self-Report Checklist. Path analysis was used to test theoretical associations. Key findings include direct associations between both family-level physical and/or sexual abuse ( β  = .43; p  < .001) and adverse parenting ( β  = .40; p  < .001) with emotional and behavioural problems amongst children. In the broader social domain, peer violence ( β  = .29; p  < .001) had a direct association with children’s emotional and behavioural problems. Several indirect paths demonstrated a chain of relationships involving family- and society-level factors and emotional and behavioural problems in children. Only longitudinal data can provide further support for veridical causal pathways linking family and social factors with adverse emotional and behavioural outcomes in offspring of refugees, thereby supporting mechanisms leading to a transgenerational transmission of adverse mental health outcomes in refugee populations. Such data would give further support for a multisectoral approach to dealing with at risk families in refugee populations, in which attention should focus on supporting parents, and promoting the protection of children from abuse in the family and in the wider society.