Coping strategies of refugee, displaced, and non-displaced children in a war area

Abstract

The authors have studied 105 children between the ages of 6 and 14 years (35 refugees, 35 displaced, and 35 non-displaced children) in Croatia. The aim was to establish the differences between the frequency with which the groups used coping strategies, their efficiency, and the established relation between coping strategies and their efficiency and possible stress situation (anxiety, depression, psychosomatic changes, and psychosocial adaptation). In this study we have applied the Schoolagers Coping Strategies Inventory (SCSI), the Questionnaire of Psychosomatic Symptoms, the Psychosocial Adjustment Questionnaire, the Anxiety Scale, and the Repression Scale. The results have shown that refugee children use fewer coping strategies than displaced and non-displaced children, and these are also less effective. We have established a significant correlation between frequency, efficacy, total number of coping strategies and the results on the Psychosocial Adjustment Questionnaire.