Opaas Marianne, Wentzel-Larsen Tore, Nissen Alexander, Hilden Per Kristian, Punamäki Raija-Leena, Spaas Caroline, Jervelund Signe Smith, Kankaanpää Reeta, Skovdal Morten, Peltonen Kirsi, De Haene Lucia, de Smet Sofie, Verelst An, Derluyn Ilse, Andersen Arnfinn J
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS), Oslo, Norway.
Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024;15(1):2430923. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2430923. Epub 2024 Dec 9.
Refugee and non-refugee migrant youths may carry a double burden of past adversities and post-migration stress while trying to continue schooling and adapt to their new social and cultural environment. Executive functioning skills are central to learning and navigating in the new context. Knowledge of how young migrants' executive functioning is associated with stressful factors and positive or potentially protective factors, could contribute to understanding and possibly finding ways to support these young learners. To investigate how potentially stressful and positive factors are associated with executive function skills. In a secondary, explorative analysis of questionnaire responses from 1312 migrant students in secondary schools in five European countries, the associations of planning- and initiative executive function skills (PIS-EF) with stressful factors (e.g. emotional and behavioural problems, daily stress, discrimination) and positive factors (e.g. resilience, school belonging, social support) were analysed by linear regression. Furthermore, differences between male/female and refugee/non-refugee migrants were examined. Positive factors accounted for almost one-fifth of the variance in the students' self-reported PIS-EF and stress factors only one-tenth. Resilience showed the strongest association with students' PIS-EF, followed by Prosocial behaviour and School belonging. Hyperactivity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression were negatively associated with PIS-EF. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were minimally associated with the investigated aspects of executive functions. Adjusted for other variables, no variables showed significant differences in the association with EF between males and females, and refugee and non-refugee migrant students. Positive factors were more strongly associated with executive functioning than stressful factors and could represent pathways to strengthen executive functioning. To support migrant youths' functioning, the school, healthcare, and social systems should take a resource-oriented perspective and lay the ground for migrant youth's feeling of belongingness and active use of their personal resources.
难民和非难民移民青年在努力继续学业并适应新的社会和文化环境的同时，可能背负着过去逆境和移民后压力的双重负担。执行功能技能对于在新环境中学习和应对至关重要。了解年轻移民的执行功能如何与压力因素以及积极或潜在的保护因素相关联，有助于理解并可能找到支持这些年轻学习者的方法。为了调查潜在的压力因素和积极因素如何与执行功能技能相关联。在对五个欧洲国家中学的1312名移民学生问卷回复进行的二次探索性分析中，通过线性回归分析了计划和主动性执行功能技能（PIS-EF）与压力因素（如情绪和行为问题、日常压力、歧视）以及积极因素（如复原力、学校归属感、社会支持）之间的关联。此外，还研究了男性/女性以及难民/非难民移民之间的差异。积极因素占学生自我报告的PIS-EF方差的近五分之一，而压力因素仅占十分之一。复原力与学生的PIS-EF关联最强，其次是亲社会行为和学校归属感。多动以及焦虑和抑郁症状与PIS-EF呈负相关。创伤后应激症状与执行功能的调查方面关联最小。在对其他变量进行调整后，没有变量显示男性和女性以及难民和非难民移民学生在与执行功能的关联上存在显著差异。积极因素与执行功能的关联比压力因素更强，可能代表着加强执行功能的途径。为了支持移民青年的功能，学校、医疗保健和社会系统应采取以资源为导向的视角，为移民青年的归属感和积极利用个人资源奠定基础。
