Abstract:
In this talk, Dr Hadfield will discuss what is known about how we can best promote positive mental health and ameliorate negative mental health among child refugees. She will discuss research and theory in this field, and then will discuss three separate projects which exemplify this. First, she will describe a scoping review of wellbeing-promoting interventions for displaced children in Africa. Second, she will discuss the efficacy of a Mercy Corps program called Advancing Adolescents at improving the mental health of Syrian refugee adolescents in Jordan. Finally, drawing on an ongoing project with Syrian refugee families in Jordan, she will discuss the role of family relationships for the mental health of displaced children. Together, this talk with provide an overview of the state of evidence for what we can do to reduce the negative mental health impacts of war and displacement, using specific examples from Dr Hadfield’s work.