Risk and protection in mental health among Syrian children displaced in Lebanon

Resilience is a process shaped by the interaction of risk and protective factors operating across the different layers of child’s social ecology. This paper examines the overall adjustment of 159 Syrian refugees children, living in collective shelters in different area of Lebanon, through investigating the variety of multi-layered stressors and protective processes impacting their mental health, from individual characteristics to environmental mediators. The sample is divided into 4 groups according to the region where they are located: Akkar, the Bekka, Mount Lebanon and Beirut. The methodology employed combines qualitative and quantitative measures. Symptoms of child post-traumatic stress disorder and co-morbidity and psychosocial functioning, are collected through self report scales for children, parents and social workers, validated in Arabic language. Resilience measure includes items based on key actors perceptions of children needs and main resources. Specific drawing tools are employed in order to take into account children’s own perception of risk and protective factors in their life. Results enable to define good practices of “assisted resilience”, in orienting and optimising NGO psycho-social interventions with refugees children, families and community. In particular the awareness of protective process, allow practitioners to identify the main resources which can be improved and reinforced through psycho-social interventions. Risk factors lead to define criteria for detecting and monitoring more vulnerable cases.