Father-separation and well-being in forcibly displaced Syrian children

H. Eltanamly; A. May; F. McEwen; E. Karam; Michael Pluess

doi:10.1080/14616734.2024.2406610

Father-separation and well-being in forcibly displaced Syrian children

H. Eltanamly, A. May, F. McEwen, E. Karam, Michael Pluess^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Forcibly displaced children often face separation from their parents, particularly fathers. These children endure the hardships of war, displacement, and the loss of a key attachment figure. Despite the critical role of attachment in children’s well-being during periods of heightened stress, the impact of separation due to war and displacement has received little attention in empirical work. Findings from 1544 Syrian refugee children (M_age = 10.97, SD = 2.27) living in informal settlements in Lebanon with their mothers (M_age = 38.07, SD = 8.49), including 367 father-separated children, show that father-separated children experienced more war-related events and worse refugee environments. Structural equation modelling showed that beyond the direct relation of war exposure and quality of the refugee environment on well-being, father separation was uniquely related to more depressive symptoms and worse self-development, but not to anxiety, PTSD, or externalising problems in children. Maternal parenting did not explain these outcomes, though it had a protective function for children’s well-being.

Original language	English
Journal	Attachment and Human Development
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2024.2406610
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 4 Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Funding

The BIOPATH study was funded by the Eunice Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development [NICHD; R01HD083387] and sponsored by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The funder and sponsor played no role in study design, in the collection, analysis or interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the article for publication. We warmly thank all participating families for their participation.

Funders	Funder number
Eunice Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development [NICHD]	R01HD083387
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)

Keywords

attachment
Father-separation
forcibly displaced children
parenting
refugees
war

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1080/14616734.2024.2406610Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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AU - May, A.

AU - McEwen, F.

AU - Karam, E.

AU - Pluess, Michael

PY - 2024/10/4

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N2 - Forcibly displaced children often face separation from their parents, particularly fathers. These children endure the hardships of war, displacement, and the loss of a key attachment figure. Despite the critical role of attachment in children’s well-being during periods of heightened stress, the impact of separation due to war and displacement has received little attention in empirical work. Findings from 1544 Syrian refugee children (Mage = 10.97, SD = 2.27) living in informal settlements in Lebanon with their mothers (Mage = 38.07, SD = 8.49), including 367 father-separated children, show that father-separated children experienced more war-related events and worse refugee environments. Structural equation modelling showed that beyond the direct relation of war exposure and quality of the refugee environment on well-being, father separation was uniquely related to more depressive symptoms and worse self-development, but not to anxiety, PTSD, or externalising problems in children. Maternal parenting did not explain these outcomes, though it had a protective function for children’s well-being.

AB - Forcibly displaced children often face separation from their parents, particularly fathers. These children endure the hardships of war, displacement, and the loss of a key attachment figure. Despite the critical role of attachment in children’s well-being during periods of heightened stress, the impact of separation due to war and displacement has received little attention in empirical work. Findings from 1544 Syrian refugee children (Mage = 10.97, SD = 2.27) living in informal settlements in Lebanon with their mothers (Mage = 38.07, SD = 8.49), including 367 father-separated children, show that father-separated children experienced more war-related events and worse refugee environments. Structural equation modelling showed that beyond the direct relation of war exposure and quality of the refugee environment on well-being, father separation was uniquely related to more depressive symptoms and worse self-development, but not to anxiety, PTSD, or externalising problems in children. Maternal parenting did not explain these outcomes, though it had a protective function for children’s well-being.

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Father-separation and well-being in forcibly displaced Syrian children

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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