Determination of the Mental Adjustment Status of Refugee Children in Primary School Age: The Case of Turkey.

Abstract

This research was conducted as a descriptive study to determine the mental adjustment status of refugee children aged 6 to 14 in Duzce. The sample of the study consisted of 163 refugee children. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with primary caregivers of children using the Hacettepe Mental Adjustment Scale. The collected data were analyzed in the SPSS 22.0 database using percentages, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H, and chi-square tests. Adjustment problems were detected in 25.8% of the children participating and behavioral problems were detected in over half (52.4%). In line with the findings obtained from the research, it has been suggested to form a team of mental health experts, including psychiatric nurses, who have adopted the principles of transcultural care to make early diagnosis and effective treatment of psychiatric diseases of refugee children.