Social Science and Medicine
Volume 239, 2019

School-based programs for Supporting the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of adolescent forced migrants in high-income countries: A scoping review (Review)

Bennouna C. , Khauli N. , Basir M. , Allaf C. , Wessells M. , Stark L.*
  • a Department of Political Science, Brown University, United States
  • b Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, United States
  • c Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, United States
  • d Qatar Foundation International, United States
  • e Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, United States
  • f Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, United States

Abstract

As communities around the world continue to receive record-setting numbers of newcomers fleeing armed conflict, schools play a central role in supporting these families through the challenges of adjustment. Policymakers and educators in several high-income countries have begun to invest in efforts to support these young forced migrants not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. This study reviews the published and grey literature on 20 school-based programs aimed at improving the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of adolescent forced migrants in high-income countries from 2000 to 2019. This review seeks to inform a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of the types of program options available to schools, while also identifying gaps in the current literature related to factors influencing program implementation. We find several common approaches and challenges to supporting adolescent forced migrants, as well as their families, communities, schools, and service providers. The reviewed programs faced recurring challenges related to intercultural exchange, gaining access to communities, promoting care-seeking, school capacity limitations, and sustainability. The lessons learned from these programs indicate that several steps can be taken to mitigate these challenges, including adapting services to individuals and their contexts, taking a multi-layered approach that addresses multiple levels of young people's social ecologies, and building trusting, collaborative partnerships with schools, communities, and students. © 2019

Author Keywords

school Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) Social and emotional learning Armed conflict Refugee

Index Keywords

ecology policy implementation refugee social policy mental health human wellbeing war grey literature psychosocial care high income country forced migration psychology coping strategy Adolescent male female young population Review human experiment policy making Learning immigrant population
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85072288766&doi=10.1016%2fj.socscimed.2019.112558&partnerID=40&md5=cdf2f9d64f9fb3afa063bafbb8fa1527
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112558
ISSN: 02779536
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English