Prevention Science
Volume 18, Issue 7, 2017, Pages 793-803

Improving Mental Health Outcomes of Burmese Migrant and Displaced Children in Thailand: a Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parenting and Family Skills Intervention (Article)

Annan J.* , Sim A. , Puffer E.S. , Salhi C. , Betancourt T.S.
  • a Research, Evaluation and Learning Unit, International Rescue Committee, New York, NY, United States, The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, 1155 E 60th St, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
  • b Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • c Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, United States
  • d Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, United States
  • e Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States

Abstract

The negative effects of displacement and poverty on child mental health are well-known, yet research on prevention interventions in low- and middle-income countries, especially fragile states, remains limited. We examined the effectiveness of a parenting skills intervention on mental health outcomes among Burmese migrant and displaced children living in 20 communities in Thailand. Participants were primary caregivers and children aged 7 to 15 years (n = 479 families). Families were randomly assigned to receive an adapted version of the Strengthening Families Program (n = 240) or a wait-list control condition (n = 239). Assessments were conducted at baseline and 1-month post-intervention for both conditions and at 6 months for treatment group only. One month after the program, children in the treatment condition showed significant reductions in externalizing problems (caregiver effect size (ES) −0.22, p = 0.02; child report ES −0.11, p = 0.02) and child attention problems compared with controls (caregiver report ES −0.23, p = 0.03). There was no significant treatment effect on children’s internalizing problems (ES −0.06; p = 0.31). Children reported a significant increase in prosocial protective factors relative to controls (ES 0.20, p < 0.01). Results suggest that an evidence-based parenting skills intervention adapted for a displaced and migrant Burmese population facing high levels of adversity can have positive effects on children’s externalizing symptoms and protective psychosocial factors. Trial Registration. Clinicaltrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01829815. © 2016, Society for Prevention Research.

Author Keywords

Migrants Parenting Mental health Low and middle income countries displacement Myanmar

Index Keywords

controlled clinical trial clinical trial Thailand mental health human middle income country effect size Burmese controlled study randomized controlled trial family study Humans migrant family psychology Adolescent male female Myanmar cultural factor symptom Parenting major clinical study migration Cultural Characteristics skill Transients and Migrants attention caregiver child parent relation registration Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84995754643&doi=10.1007%2fs11121-016-0728-2&partnerID=40&md5=7968f8da18dea2d832121b45eea91291
DOI: 10.1007/s11121-016-0728-2
ISSN: 13894986
Cited by: 14
Original Language: English