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| Children in central Afghanistan highland play game of scooer as sun sets behind theme. [Photo Credit: Hadi Zaher/getty image] |
London: A new study indicates
that about one-third of asylum-seeking Afghan children who arrive in the UK without
their parents or a guardian are likely to be experience symptoms associated
with post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, they also found those in foster care were less
likely to be suffering from PTSD than those in shared accommodation with other
asylum-seekers and refugees.
The research by Oxford University looked at boys or young
men aged between 13 and 18 years old. The study suggests that of this group, teenagers
in foster care were less likely to be suffering from post-traumatic stress and
this could be because those in foster care received more support.
Published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, this is the
largest study to examine the prevalence of probable PSTD amongst unaccompanied
asylum-seeking children in the UK, and is the first ever to examine this among
Afghan unaccompanied asylum-seekers.
This is despite the fact that Afghans are the largest group
of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK. Although around half of
unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK are from Afghanistan, there is
very limited evidence on the state of their mental health, notes the study.
The study finds that the proportion of Afghans in this group
likely to be suffering from post traumatic stress (34 per cent) is roughly in
line with other studies of unaccompanied child asylum-seekers, but is notably
higher than rates in the general population.
Researcher Professor Paul Montgomery, from the Department of
Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, said: 'Although
Afghan children are the biggest group of unaccompanied asylum-seekers in the
UK, this is the first and largest robust study to look at how their mental
health is affected by what they have been through.
'Perhaps one of the most significant findings of this study
is the mediating influence that foster carers have in this.
The study also points out that six out of every ten (62%) of
the Afghan children did not report symptoms relating to PTSD and most of the
children stayed in a relatively good mental state, suggesting a high level of
resilience. They suggest that more research needs to be done into the
resilience perspective to increase our understanding of the protective
mechanisms at work for this at-risk population.
The researchers worked closely with the UK Border Agency and
a local authority to gain access to the Afghan unaccompanied child
asylum-seekers. The study's findings are based on self-reporting from 222
Afghans, who completed validated questionnaires.