The Effects of Family Financial Stress and Primary Caregivers' Levels of Acculturation on Children's Emotional and Behavioral Problems among Humanitarian Refugees in Australia.

Linlin Yu,Li Ling,Lishuo Shi,Wen Chen,Andre M.N Renzaho

doi:10.3390/ijerph17082716

Abstract

The present study evaluated the application of the basic and extended (incorporated primary caregivers’ levels of acculturation) Family Stress Model (FSM) to understand the effect of family financial stress and primary caregivers’ levels of acculturation on children’s emotional and behavioral problems among refugees in Australia. A total of 658 refugee children aged 5–17 and their primary caregivers (n = 410) from the third wave of a nationwide longitudinal project were included in this study. We used multilevel structural equation models with bootstrapping to test the indirect effects of family financial stress and caregivers’ levels of acculturation (including English proficiency, self-sufficiency, social interaction, and self-identity) on children’s emotional and behavioral problems through caregivers’ psychological distress and parenting styles. The results showed that the extended FSM improved the model fit statistics, explaining 45.8% variation in children’s emotional and behavioral problems. Family financial stress, caregivers’ English proficiency, and self-identity had indirect effects on children’s emotional and behavioral problems through caregivers’ psychological distress and hostile parenting. The findings showed that interventions aimed at reducing caregivers’ psychological distress and negative parenting could be effective in alleviating the adverse effects of family financial stress and caregivers’ low levels of acculturation on refugee children’s mental health.

Highlights

By the end of 2018, the number of forcibly displaced population increased to 70.8 million globally, including 25.9 million refugees who needed to resettle in a third country [1]
The extended Family Stress Model (FSM) was more applicable to the refugee population in Australia than the basic
The findings of this study provide evidence that caregivers’ psychological distress and hostile parenting are directly associated with children’s emotional and behavioral problems, and family financial stress, caregivers’

Summary

Introduction

By the end of 2018, the number of forcibly displaced population increased to 70.8 million globally, including 25.9 million refugees who needed to resettle in a third country [1]. About half of the refugee population were children under 18 years old [1]. Due to a variety of stressors associated with forced migration, the available evidence suggests that refugee children are more vulnerable to mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and emotional and behavioral problems than children in the host population [2,3]. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2716; doi:10.3390/ijerph17082716 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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Discussion

Conclusion