Social cognition in refugee children: an experimental cross-sectional study of emotional processing with Syrian families in Turkish communities

More than 5.6 million people have fled Syria since 2011, about half of them children. These children grow up with parents that often suffer from war-related mental health problems. In this study, we assess emotional processing abilities of 6-18 year-old children growing up in families that have fled from Syria and reside in Turkish communities (100 families, 394 individuals). We demonstrate that mothers', but not fathers', post-traumatic stress (PTS) impacts children's emotional processing abilities. A 4% reduction of mothers' PTS was equivalent to 1 year of development in children, even when controlling for parents' traumatic experiences. Making a small investment in increased mental health of refugee mothers might have a positive impact on the lives of their children.

Automated summary

The study found that post-traumatic stress symptoms in refugee mothers from Syria can affect the emotional processing abilities of their children, while the fathers' symptoms do not. Even when controlling for parents' traumatic experiences, reducing the mothers' PTS can have a positive impact on the development of children.