The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in war-traumatized refugee and internally displaced minors: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Year Published:

Abstract

Background: The United Nations reported that in 2016 over 65 million people worldwide have forcibly left home. Over 50% are children and adolescents; a substantial number has been traumatized and displaced by war. Objective: To provide an overview of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in this group we conducted a narrative review and a meta-analysis of intervention studies providing data on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, anxiety, grief, and general distress. Method: We searched PILOTS, MEDLINE, WoS, Embase, CENTRAL, LILACS, PsycINFO, ASSIA, CSA, and SA for studies on treatment outcomes for war-traumatized displaced children and adolescents. Between-group effect sizes (ES) and pre-post ES were reconstructed for each trial. Overall pre-post ES were calculated using a random effects model. Results: The narrative review covers 23 studies with a variety of treatments. Out of the 35 calculated between-group ES, only six were significant, all compared to untreated controls. Two of them indicated significant adverse effects on symptoms of general distress or depression. When calculating pre-post effect sizes, the positive between-group results of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT) were reproduced and singular other treatments showed significant positive effects. However, the mean pre-post effects for PTSS and depression could not be interpreted due to the high heterogeneity of the included studies (PTSS: ES = 0.78; I2 = 88.6%; depression: ES = 0.35; I2 = 93.1%). Only the mean pre-post effect for seven active CBT treatment groups for depression (ES = 0.30, 95% CI [0.18, 0.43]) was interpretable (Q = 3.3, df = 6, p = .77). Conclusion: Given the large number of children and adolescents displaced by war there were regrettably few treatment studies available, and many of them were of low methodological quality. The effect sizes lagged behind the effects observed in traumatized minors in general, and often were small or non-significant. However, CBT and IPT showed promising results that need further replication.

Citation

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What can help refugees process traumatic grief?

There is limited strong evidence on interventions that specifically target traumatic grief. –  Prolonged and traumatic grief are usually closely associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and therefore many interventions targeted PTSD with grief symptoms as an auxiliary diagnosis –  There appear to be some differences in interventions that target grief as a result of…

About this study

AGE: Adolescents and/or Youth

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: Inconclusive or mixed impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Free

HOST COUNTRY: Multiple countries

HOST COUNTRY INCOME: High

INTERVENTION DURATION: varied

INTERVENTION: Various

OUTCOME AREA: Mental Health

OUTCOME: PTSD

POPULATION: Refugees

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): Multiple Regions

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Strong

TYPE OF STUDY: Meta-analysis

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2017

More STUDIES

Using culturally appropriate, trauma-informed support to promote bicultural self-efficacy among resettled refugees: A conceptual model

Resettled refugees face pressure to integrate successfully into the culture of their resettlement country within a relatively short period of time. Though successful integration is important, research has shown that ethnic identity and participation in the ethnic culture of origin play a key role in supporting the mental health of resettled refugees. This paper presents…

Working towards culturally responsive trauma-informed care in the refugee resettlement process: Qualitative inquiry with refugee-serving professionals in the United States

Trauma-informed care (TIC) approaches have gained popularity in various contexts of human services over the past decades. However, relatively little has been explored about how it is applicable and built into services for refugee populations in resettlement programs. This study explores the current status of the application of TIC in refugee-serving agencies and identifies perceived…

A multitier model of refugee mental health and psychosocial support in resettlement: Toward trauma-informed and culture-informed systems of care

Refugees endure tremendous trauma during migration and resettlement. Despite the wide range of needs and challenges refugees have, previous research on refugee mental health has concentrated on the clinical treatment of certain common mental disorders related to premigration trauma. This narrow attention creates an environment in which positive mental health and social functioning are seen…