Parenting and mental health in protracted refugee situations: A systematic review
Refugees' parenting behaviour is profoundly influenced by their mental health, which is, in turn, influenced by their situation of displacement. Our research presents the first systematic review on parenting and mental health in protracted refugee situations, where 78% of all refugees reside. W...
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| Published in: | Comprehensive psychiatry Vol. 135; p. 152536 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
Elsevier Inc
01-11-2024
Elsevier Limited Elsevier |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Refugees' parenting behaviour is profoundly influenced by their mental health, which is, in turn, influenced by their situation of displacement. Our research presents the first systematic review on parenting and mental health in protracted refugee situations, where 78% of all refugees reside.
We pre-registered our protocol and screened documents in 22 languages from 10 electronic databases, reports by 16 international humanitarian organisations and region-specific content from the top 100 websites for each of the 72 countries that ‘host’ protracted refugees. Our criteria were empirical papers reporting parenting and parental mental health data on refugees who are in a protracted refugee situation. Studies including only internally displaced or stateless persons were excluded.
A total of 18,125 documents were screened and 30 studies were included. We identified a universal pathway linking macro-level stressors in protracted refugee situations, such as movement restrictions and documentation issues, to symptoms of depression and anxiety, which, in turn, led to negative parenting practices. Additionally, culture-specific pathways were observed in the way parental mental health and parenting were expressed. Situational (e.g., overcrowding) and relational factors (e.g., spousal dynamics) modulated both of these pathways. Biases in the research included the over-representation of specific protracted refugee situations, overreliance on self-reported data, and a heavy focus on mothers while neglecting fathers and other caregivers. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the directionality and causality between specific macro-level stressors in a given protracted refugee situation and parental mental health and practices. Refugees were rarely consulted or involved in the design of research concerning their parenting and parental mental health.
In recognising the existing links between protracted refugee situations, parental mental health, and parenting, our systematic review calls for a shift in thinking: from focusing solely on the micro aspects that affect ‘refugee parenting’ to understanding and tackling the broader macro-level stressors that drive them. We urge larger and long-term research efforts that consider diverse protracted refugee situations, greater investment in science communication and diplomacy with governments, and stronger implementation of durable solutions by states to alleviate the roots of refugee parents' distress and negative parenting practices.
•Refugee mental health and parenting relationship is important to understand in context.•Our review targets protracted refugee situations, where 78% of refugees reside.•Protracted refugee situations could impact refugee parenting through parental mental health.•Universal and culture-specific pathways may exist, shaped by relational and situational factors.•Contributions of past stressors like war trauma were weak and indirect on parenting.•Extant research emphasises psychopathology and harsh parenting over resilience. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Undefined-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0010-440X 1532-8384 1532-8384 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152536 |