Abstract
Turkey has been facing with migration for various reasons. More than half of those migrating from Syria to Turkey are children. In this study, it was aimed to examine the levels of PTSD, empathy and depression in Syrian children. A total of 121 boys and 135 girls from Altindag district of Ankara formed a sample group of 256 children. Personal Information Form, PTSD, Empathy and Depression Scale for Children were used in this study. The results revealed that there was no meaningful relation between the gender of the children and the levels of PTSD, empathy and depression. The younger children's trauma level and depression level was higher as well as the children whose father is alive. The empathy level is also higher and children's PTSD and empathy levels have changed according to their siblings are alive or not. The depression level of children whose mothers did not work was higher. Children whose fathers did not work had a higher level of PTSD, empathy and depression. Children with violence in the family had high levels of PTSD, empathy and depression, the empathy level of children with fewer siblings was lower, children whose income level was lower depression level was lower.
Highlights
There have been traumatic events in almost every part of the World and people are trying to overcome them
According to the siblings' survival status, 112 (43.8%) of them reported that their siblings were alive whereas 144 (56.2%) of them stated that they were not alive. 245 (95.7%) of the Syrian children expressed that their mothers were alive, while 11 (4.3%) of them said that their mothers were not alive
The mean depression score ( X = 30.71) for children with family violence in the family was higher than the mean depression score (X= 28.86) for children without family violence in the family. These findings indicated that the levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), empathy and depression of Syrian children with family violence in the family were higher than the PTSD, empathy and depression levels in Syrian children without family violence
Summary
There have been traumatic events in almost every part of the World and people are trying to overcome them. All traumatic events share some common features, they differ in their impact on individuals. Many people develop acute stress responses such as arousal, anxiety, sadness, grief, irritability, and sleep disturbances immediately after they have been exposed to a life-threatening traumatic event. These symptoms disappear over time, some individuals may develop a more permanent series of psychological symptoms [2]. The most common psychological disorder after trauma is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [3]. Weinrich, Hardin, Weinrich and Wang [7] suggest that some traumatic events reveal more PTSD symptoms than others
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
