Posted on 06/09/2005 5:29:35 AM PDT by SJackson
BU medical researchers find family, community engagement may mediate traumatic reaction (Boston) -- About five years ago, escaping the war, violence, and forced flight from their homeland, around 300 young Sudanese boys found new homes in America. Bereft of family, these "Lost Boys of Sudan" were placed with U.S. families, where, in large part, they thrived. Their resettlement, however, has not been without a new sort of trauma. According to a recent study by Paul L. Geltman, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues, many of these young men have exhibited the behavioral and emotional distress associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The troubling findings are not without some promise, though, for they also indicate that future young refugees can thrive on all fronts if resettlement efforts take a comprehensive approach that includes greater family and community engagement augmented by innovative social service and health-care interventions.
The new study appears in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. It was funded by the Joel and Barbara Alpert Endowment for the Children of the City, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center.
In 2000, the U.S. began the resettlement of unaccompanied minors from a Kenyan refugee camp, a group called the "Lost Boys of Sudan" by the news media. As very young children in the Sudan in the 1980s, they had been forced to flee their burning villages as their parents and families were often killed. Seeking shelter in Ethiopia, an estimated 25,000 children trekked hundreds of miles across the savannah and desert, stalked by hyenas and lions. Expelled by force from Ethiopia in 1991, they fled to Kenya, fording rivers in which many drowned or were killed by crocodiles.
In undertaking the study, the researchers noted that refugee children who are not accompanied by parents or family members when resettled in other countries seem to be at particularly high risk for symptoms of emotional distress related to their experiences with violence. To determine whether such symptoms occurred among the "lost boys," the research team assessed the functional and behavioral health of the unaccompanied Sudanese refugee minors approximately one year after resettlement in the United States. A sample of the refugees in foster care were interviewed using questionnaires, adapted from standardized questionnaires using feedback from foster parents, resettlement program staff and the children themselves, to assess trauma, coping and quality of life.
Of the 304 youths who returned questionnaires, most had directly witnessed or were victims of war-related violence. Ninety-three percent reported that their villages had been attacked; many reported witnessing close friends or family members being tortured, injured or killed; 20 percent reported having been tortured themselves. Although many of the children said they were at least a little comfortable with U.S. society and culture in general, many also expressed a desire for more detailed and ongoing orientation in social and cultural issues both before and after coming to the U.S.
The youths scored well on measures related to functioning at school and with peers. They tended to score less well on measures of general and mental health, family activities and family cohesion. A number of factors were associated with increased risk of PTSD in the youths, including separation from immediate family, direct personal injury and head trauma. Experiences in the U.S. that increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder included living in a group home or being in foster care alone with an American family, feeling lonely or isolated and less participation in group activities. Feeling safe at home and at school reduced the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"This suggests that relative levels of family and community engagement after arriving in the United States may mediate the ultimate impact of early trauma on later psychosocial functioning," the team concludes. "The Sudanese minors seemed to function well in school and activities outside the home. However, problems emerge in their home lives and emotional states, as evidenced by low scores on the CHQ [Child Health Questionnaire] family and mental health subscales. This finding suggests that the criteria used to assess the 'success' of resettlement programs should include broader measures of household or family life and emotional well-being."
According to the team, the findings outline not only the promise and challenges of resettling refugee children but also the important opportunities for innovative social service and health care interventions. As such, a comprehensive approach could help ensure that future cohorts of unaccompanied refugee minors in the United States will reach their full psychological and physical potential to live full and vibrant lives.
Source: Reuters
CHICAGO, June 6 (Reuters) - The "Lost Boys of Sudan," who fled vicious attacks on their villages only to face a hazardous trek across Africa's wilderness, often suffer nightmares but are faring well in the United States, a study said on Monday.
A survey of hundreds of resettled Sudanese young men -- part of the 25,000 boys who fled their burning villages two decades ago and were dubbed the "Lost Boys of Sudan" -- found most were successfully making the adjustment to life in the United States a year later.
But of the 300 surveyed, 58 percent said they experienced frequent "recurrent thoughts of the most hurtful event," and 40 percent reported "feeling as though the event was happening again." One in five could be diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Physically, 92 percent of those surveyed reported their health to be good to excellent.
"The Sudanese minors seemed to function well in school and activities outside the home. However, problems emerge in their home lives and emotional states," wrote lead author Paul Geltman, a pediatrician at Boston University School of Medicine.
To cope with their fears, more than one-third of the refugees said they avoided activities that might remind them of their experiences. Nearly all had witnessed the mutilation or stabbing of family members and friends.
The young men were surveyed between six months and a year after their arrival, between late 2000 and early 2001.
As young children in Sudan in the early 1980s, roughly 25,000 youths were forced to flee for Ethiopia, braving the desert and attacks by hyenas and lions. Expelled by Ethiopia's government in 1991, they fled to Kenya, though many drowned or fell victim to crocodiles while fording rivers.
In general, the Sudanese appeared to be less well equipped than Bosnian refugees who were brought to the United States in similar circumstances, Geltman wrote in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine.
Many Sudanese were unaccompanied by family or friends when the U.S. settlement program began in 2000. Hundreds were plucked from Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp and placed in foster care or group homes.
The study concluded that refugees who were in group homes or foster care with other Sudanese fared better psychologically as they could more easily share their experiences.
Oh, joy. Just what we need. (/bitter sarcasm)
later
"This suggests that relative levels of family and community engagement after arriving in the United States may mediate the ultimate impact of early trauma on later psychosocial functioning," the team concludes."
Gee, ya think?
Did we need a study to tell us that children who went thru traumatic, horrendous experiences, and then relocated to another country and put in a shelter or foster care might suffer PTSD?
" Nearly all had witnessed the mutilation or stabbing of family members and friends."
Yeah, that might give a kid a little PTSD.
I think it's encouraging to hear that " in large part, they thrived" and they do "well on measures related to functioning at school and with peers."
pong
It galls me that someone (probably us) paid for a study to harass messed up kids just so they could find out a conclusions anyone on the street could have told the. In other news, studies show researchers are remarkably stupid.
How about focus on the lost boys of the inner city? Hauling vast social problems into our country without addressing the inner city disasters of our own?
This from a kid who had to eat whatever he could find in the ravaged landscapes of Sudan.
More likely that they just absorbed the prevailing mind-sets of the 'hoods where they were placed...
Many have settled in Rochester at the Church referenced in this article
fwiw - my wife was instrumental in re-introducing them to wool spinning, via the drop spindle method, and today they market the yarn for income
I also had the opportunity to hear them sing tribal songs a while back - their musical scale has only five notes and sounds very unique
solid solid believers though
Our church help sponser 12 of these boys. You would change your mind if you heard their stories.
There are hundreds of millions of sob stories all over the world.
Working to fix the problems at home, rather than doing nothing and importing chaotic social problems.
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