Saleh Muna, Amona Elizabeth, Kuttikat Miriam, Sahoo Indranil, Chan David, Murphy Jennifer, Kim Kyeongmo, George Hannah, Lund Marianne
School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Sep 16;19(9):e0303632. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303632. eCollection 2024.
While the association between migration and deteriorated refugee mental health is well-documented, existing research overwhelmingly centers on adult populations, leaving a discernible gap in our understanding of the factors influencing mental health for forcibly displaced children. This focus is particularly noteworthy considering the estimated 43.3 million children who are forcibly displaced globally. Little is known regarding the association between family processes, parental and child wellbeing for this population. This study addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between parental mental health and child mental health among refugees experiencing transmigration. We conducted in-person structured survey interviews with 120 parent-adolescent dyads living in the Trichy refugee camp in Tamil Nadu, India. Descriptive, multivariate analysis (hierarchical regression), and Machine Learning Algorithm (XGBOOST) were conducted to determine the best predictors and their importance for child depressive symptoms. The results confirm parental mental health and child behavioral and emotional factors are significant predictors of child depressive symptoms. While our linear model did not reveal a statistically significant association between child mental health and family functioning, results from XGBOOST highlight the substantial importance of family functioning in contributing to child depressive symptoms. The study's findings amplify the critical need for mental health resources for both parents and children, as well as parenting interventions inside refugee camps.
虽然移民与难民心理健康恶化之间的关联已有充分记录，但现有研究绝大多数集中在成年人群体上，这使得我们在理解影响被迫流离失所儿童心理健康的因素方面存在明显差距。考虑到全球估计有4330万儿童被迫流离失所，这种关注尤为值得注意。对于这一群体，家庭过程、父母和儿童福祉之间的关联鲜为人知。本研究通过考察经历移民的难民中父母心理健康与儿童心理健康之间的关系，填补了这些空白。我们对居住在印度泰米尔纳德邦蒂鲁吉里难民营的120对父母-青少年二元组进行了面对面的结构化调查访谈。进行了描述性、多变量分析（分层回归）和机器学习算法（XGBOOST），以确定儿童抑郁症状的最佳预测因素及其重要性。结果证实，父母心理健康以及儿童行为和情绪因素是儿童抑郁症状的重要预测因素。虽然我们的线性模型未揭示儿童心理健康与家庭功能之间存在统计学上的显著关联，但XGBOOST的结果凸显了家庭功能在导致儿童抑郁症状方面的重要性。该研究结果进一步凸显了为难民父母和儿童提供心理健康资源以及在难民营内开展育儿干预措施的迫切需求。
