Psychosocial Support for War-Traumatized Child and Adolescent Refugees: Evaluation of a Short-Term Treatment Program
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a newly designed psychosocial treatment program for war traumatized child and adolescent refugees. The program was designed to reduce emotional distress and improve psychosocial functioning. Method: Ten young Kosovan refugees (mean age 13.3 years) residing in Germany participated in the manual based intervention program. This multimodal program consists of individual, family and group sessions using a psychoeducational approach beside trauma and grief focusing activities, creative techniques and relaxation. Kind and severity of traumatic experiences were gathered by interviewing the child and their caretakers using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Psychiatric diagnoses (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, K-SADS) were assessed prior to the intervention. Post-traumatic symptomatology (HTQ), emotional problems (Diagnostic System for Psychological Disorders, DYSIPS) and the overall psychosocial functioning (Child Global Assessment Scale, CGAS) were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention. Results: Following the intervention the degree of overall psychosocial functioning increased substantially in 9 of 10 participants. Furthermore, post-traumatic, anxiety and depressive symptoms were reduced significantly. The rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses fell from 60% to 30%. The number of patients with PTSD and a high rate of comorbid symptoms (depression and anxiety) as well as a history of severe traumatization remained at 30%. Conclusions: This study suggests that the psychosocial treatment program specified for war traumatized adolescents may be useful for the relief of psychiatric sequelae and for an improvement in overall psychosocial functions, but not for the subgroup of severely traumatized patients with complex psychiatric disturbances.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In a pilot study with Kosovan refugees in Germany, post-intervention results showed significant declines in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms among participants.
“Post-intervention results showed significant declines in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms among participants”
From Interventions for Children Affected by War: An Ecological Perspective on Psychosocial Support and Mental Health Care (2013) · cites this paper as [79]
In the same pilot study, nine out of ten participants scored higher on psychosocial functioning measures.
“nine out of ten scored higher on psychosocial functioning measures.”
From Interventions for Children Affected by War: An Ecological Perspective on Psychosocial Support and Mental Health Care (2013) · cites this paper as [79]
Cites
KAUFMAN, J., BIRMAHER, B., BRENT, D., RAO, U., FLYNN, C., MORECI, P., WILLIAMSON, D., & RYAN, N. (1997) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199707000-00021 · Cited by 10,148 · see citing works
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
Hu, R. J. (2003) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b0-12-226870-9/01070-4 · Cited by 9,167 · see citing works
A Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS)
Shaffer, D. (1983) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790100074010 · Cited by 3,716 · see citing works
MOLLICA, R. F., CASPI-YAVIN, Y., BOLLINI, P., TRUONG, T., TOR, S., & LAVELLE, J. (1992) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-199202000-00008 · Cited by 1,489 · cited 10× · see citing works
“Traumatic experiences and post-traumatic symptomatology of the participants have been assessed using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) [22].”
MethodInfluentialThe Assessment of Affective Disorders in Children and Adolescents by Semistructured Interview
Chambers, W. J. (1985) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1985.01790300064008 · Cited by 1,272 · see citing works
Review of Child and Adolescent Refugee Mental Health
Lustig, S. L., Kia‐Keating, M., Grant-Knight, W., Geltman, P. L., Ellis, H., Kinzie, J. D., Keane, T. M., & Saxe, G. (2004) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200401000-00012 · Cited by 790 · see citing works
Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie
Lehmkuhl, U. (2000) · Cited by 401 · see citing works
Outcome of psychotherapy among early adolescents after trauma
(1997) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.154.4.536 · Cited by 381 · cited 1× · see citing works
“[12] offered a brief trauma and grief focusing psychotherapy to adolescents who had been exposed to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.”
BackgroundMollica, R. F., McInnes, D. K., PHAM, T., Fawzi, M. C. S., MURPHY, E., & Lin, L.-E. (1998) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-199809000-00005 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Children and mothers in war: an outcome study of a psychosocial intervention program
Dybdahl, R. (2001) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00343 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Smith, P. A., Perrin, S. G., Yule, W., & Rabe‐Hesketh, S. (2001) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00732 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Children's Trauma and Adjustment Reactions to Violent and Nonviolent War Experiences
Allwood, M. A., Bell-Dolan, D. J., & HUSAIN, S. A. (2002) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200204000-00018 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
War exposure among children from Bosnia‐Hercegovina: Psychological adjustment in a community sample
Smith, P. A., Perrin, S. G., Yule, W., Hacam, B., & Stuvland, R. (2002) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1023/a:1014812209051 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
War trauma and psychopathology in Bosnian refugee children
Papageorgiou, V., Frangou-Garunovic, A., Iordanidou, R., Yule, W., Smith, P. A., & Vostanis, P. (2000) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s007870050002 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
A 6-Year Follow-up Study of Cambodian Refugee Adolescents Traumatized as Children
Sack, W. H., Clarke, G. N., Him, C., DICKASON, D., GOFF, B., Lanham, K., & Kinzie, J. D. (1993) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199303000-00027 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Psychological well-being of refugee children
Ajduković, M., & Ajduković, D. (1993) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(08)80014-2 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
The Children's Global Assessment Scale in Clinical Practice: An Empirical Evaluation
GREEN, B., SHIRK, S., HANZE, D., & WANSTRATH, J. (1994) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199410000-00011 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
War Experiences and Distress Symptoms of Bosnian Children
Goldstein, R. D., Wampler, N. S., & Wise, P. H. (1997) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.100.5.873 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Fawzi, M. C. S., Murphy, E., Pham, T., Lin, L., Poole, C., & Mollica, R. F. (1997) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1997.tb00379.x · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Dyrborg, J., Larsen, F. W., Nielsen, S. L., Byman, J., Nielsen, B. B., & Gautrè-Delay, F. (2000) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s007870070043 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Yule, W. (2000) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00657 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Becker, D. F., Weine, S. M., Vojvoda, D., & McGlashan, T. H. (1999) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199906000-00027 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Playing to grow: A primary mental health intervention with Guatemalan refugee children.
Miller, K. E., & Billings, D. L. (1994) · American Journal of Orthopsychiatry · doi:10.1037/h0079548 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Hodes, M. (1998) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.316.7134.793 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Vietnamese refugees with PTSD symptomatology: Intervention via a coping skills model
Snodgrass, L. L., Yamamoto, J., Frederic, C., Ton‐That, N., Foy, D. W., Chan, L., Wu, J. C., Hahn, P. H., Shinh, D. Y., Nguyen, L. H., et al. (1993) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.2490060413 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
McGorry, P. D. (1995) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/00048679509064955 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Betancourt, T. S., Meyers-Ohki, S. E., Charrow, A. P., & Tol, W. A. (2013) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/hrp.0b013e318283bf8f · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Ruf, M., Schauer, M., Neuner, F., Catani, C., Schauer, E., & Elbert, T. (2010) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.20548 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Preventive interventions among children exposed to trauma of armed conflict: a literature review
Peltonen, K., & Punamäki, R. (2010) · Aggressive Behavior · doi:10.1002/ab.20334 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Sadeh, A., Hen-Gal, S., & Tikotzky, L. (2008) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1348 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
KARAM, E. G., FAYYAD, J., KARAM, A. N., TABET, C. C., MELHEM, N., MNEIMNEH, Z., & DIMASSI, H. (2008) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/j.2051-5545.2008.tb00170.x · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Verdeli, H., Clougherty, K., Onyango, G., Lewandowski, E., Speelman, L., Betancourt, T. S., Neugebauer, R., Stein, T. R., & Bolton, P. (2008) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.chc.2008.03.002 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Nocon, A., Eberle-Sejari, R., Unterhitzenberger, J., & Rosner, R. (2017) · European Journal of Psychotraumatology · doi:10.1080/20008198.2017.1388709 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
- Authors
- Möhlen, H., Parzer, P., Resch, F., & Brunner, R.
- Affiliations
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Brunner, Romuald
- Venue
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-01
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 81-87
- ISSN
- 0004-8674 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1614
- OpenAlex
- W2016295338
- Cited by
- 91
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- war trauma, refugee children, refugee adolescents, psychosocial interventions, post-traumatic stress disorder, grief, anxiety, depression, psychosocial functioning, family therapy, group therapy, psychoeducation, injury severity, treatment evaluation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Affective Symptoms, Child, Combined Modality Therapy, Family Therapy, Germany, Humans, Personality Assessment, Personality Inventory, Psychometrics, Psychotherapy, Brief, Psychotherapy, Group, Refugees, Social Adjustment, Social Support, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Warfare, Yugoslavia, Outcome Assessment, Health Care
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
