Abstract
BackgroundIn Tak province of Thailand, a number of adolescent students who migrated from Burma have resided in the boarding houses of migrant schools. This study investigated mental health status and its relationship with perceived social support among such students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study surveyed 428 students, aged 12–18 years, who lived in boarding houses. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL)-37 A, Stressful Life Events (SLE) and Reactions of Adolescents to Traumatic Stress (RATS) questionnaires were used to assess participants’ mental health status and experience of traumatic events. The Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey Scale was used to measure their perceived level of social support. Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the distribution of sociodemographic characteristics, trauma experiences, and mental health status. Further, multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between such characteristics and participants’ mental health status.ResultsIn total, 771 students were invited to participate in the study and 428 students chose to take part. Of these students, 304 completed the questionnaire. A large proportion (62.8%) indicated that both of their parents lived in Myanmar, while only 11.8% answered that both of their parents lived in Thailand. The mean total number of traumatic events experienced was 5.7 (standard deviation [SD] 2.9), mean total score on the HSCL-37A was 63.1 (SD 11.4), and mean total score on the RATS was 41.4 (SD 9.9). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that higher number of traumatic events was associated with more mental health problems.ConclusionsMany students residing in boarding houses suffered from poor mental health in Thailand’s Tak province. The number of traumatic experiences reported was higher than expected. Furthermore, these traumatic experiences were associated with poorer mental health status. Rather than making a generalized assumption on the mental health status of migrants or refugees, more detailed observation is necessary to elucidate the unique nature and vulnerabilities of this mobile population.
Highlights
In Tak province of Thailand, a number of adolescent students who migrated from Burma have resided in the boarding houses of migrant schools
A large proportion (n = 191, 62.8%) of the participants indicated that both of their parents lived in Myanmar, while only 11.8% answered that both of their parents lived in Thailand
Like many other studies that have indicated an association between traumatic events and poor mental health status [39], there was a strong association between the number of adverse life events and mental health problems among the participants of this study
Summary
In Tak province of Thailand, a number of adolescent students who migrated from Burma have resided in the boarding houses of migrant schools. Within the Thai society, migrants are among the most vulnerable groups [2,3], made up frequently of families with children taken to or born in Thailand [2]. It is difficult for Burmese migrants to attend Thai schools for a number of reasons including language, cost, fear of deportation, and curriculum [1,2,7]. In Tak province, thousands of Burmese migrant children attend migrant schools (officially defined as “learning centers” in the Thai education scheme) [7], which have been built by the local Burmese migrant community
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