Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The purpose of this short-term longitudinal study was to examine relations between trauma exposure, acculturative stress, school belonging, and internalizing symptoms in immigrant and refugee adolescents recently arriving into the United States. Participants were students between 5th and 11th grade (N = 94) who were enrolled in an alternative public school for newly arriving youth. At two different time points, students completed an electronic screening designed to assess exposure to adverse events and factors related to adjustment into a new country. Teachers reported on social skills and problem behaviors. Results indicated that acculturative stress was related to anxiety and depression after accounting for cumulative trauma and other relevant covariates. Acculturative stress remained stable over time, and differences in trauma exposure emerged between groups of students relatively high and low in acculturative stress and school belonging. Information yielded from the screening allowed school administration and staff to identify students at risk for adjustment difficulties and informed topics for group interventions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Author: M. Alexander Thibeault
Language: English
Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W183452071