Neuroticism as Mediator and Moderator Between War Atrocities and Psychopathology in Syrian Refugee Children and Adolescents.

Vivian Khamis

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.811920

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the extensive research on war atrocities and risk factors for psychopathology, there is a paucity of research on the potential mediating and moderating effect of neuroticism in refugee children and adolescents.ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze whether neuroticism mediated and/or moderated the relationship between war atrocities and different types of psychopathology in Syrian refugee children and adolescents who resettled in Lebanon and Jordan.Participants and SettingParticipants were 1,000 Syrian refugee children and adolescents of both sexes.MethodsQuestionnaires were administered in an interview format with children at school by two trained psychologists. Descriptive statistics and inter-correlations among variables were used Then the mediator and moderator effect of neuroticism in the relationship between war atrocities and posttraumatic stress, emotion regulation and behavioral and emotional disorders were examined.ResultsA partial mediating effect of neuroticism on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotion dysregulation, and emotional and behavioral disorders was revealed. Findings also indicated full moderating effects of neuroticism on PTSD as well as partial moderating effects on emotion dysregulation, and emotional and behavioral.ConclusionsFindings contribute to the neuroticism literature by showing that high-N children develop more problems that are psychopathological and have more severe affective reactions to war atrocities in post- resettlement contexts. Early interventions aimed to reduce neuroticism might contribute to a better prognosis in refugee children at high-risk for psychological disorders.

Highlights

The escalation of armed conflict in Syria brought with it a great upsurge of interest, among psychologists and psychiatrists, in studying the impact of war trauma on refugees
Pearson correlation results indicated that all study variables were positively correlated with each other, namely war atrocities, neuroticism, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotion dysregulation, and emotional and behavioral disorders
War Atrocities, Neuroticism, and PTSD The four-step model outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986) was followed to examine whether neuroticism was a mediating variable that accounts for the relationship between war atrocities and PTSD

Summary

Introduction

The escalation of armed conflict in Syria brought with it a great upsurge of interest, among psychologists and psychiatrists, in studying the impact of war trauma on refugees. Neuroticism and Psychopathology in Refugee Children psychological outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety (Fazel et al, 2012; Khamis, 2019). Conditional risk of undesirable developmental outcomes in children is highly variable by both dispositional and situational variables that play a role in the traumatic stress and coping process. High levels of neuroticism have been related to undesirable mental health outcomes such as posttraumatic disorder (Hasanovic, 2012; Breslau and Schultz, 2013), and emotion dysregulation (Kokkonen and Pulkkinen, 2001; Weinstock and Whisman, 2006; Macik et al, 2019). Despite the extensive research on war atrocities and risk factors for psychopathology, there is a paucity of research on the potential mediating and moderating effect of neuroticism in refugee children and adolescents

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion