An exploration of parenting needs
in war and refugee situations
Aala El-Khani
Rachel Calam
Fiona Ulph
School of Psychological Sciences
The University of Manchester
The role of the family during
displacement
• Primary caregiver- ‘protective shield’ or further
complicate war stress? (Elbedour et al, 1993)
• Family cohesion is a significant predictor of
refugee children’s mental health
(Fazel et al 2012, Lancet)
• Family violence is a strong predictor of change in
a child’s mental health; improved family life
working to protect and increased conflict
associated with intrafamilial violence
Using family skills approaches
• Family and parenting skills have a key role in
improving children’s wellbeing now and in the future
• Prevention of emotional and behavioural difficulties,
drug misuse, violence and crime
• Adapting to needs, cultures and contexts
Can this approach help displaced
families?
Phase 1
• Recruitment areas: Syria and Turkey
• 8 semi-structured interviews carried out
exploring parents experience of parenting in
war and refugee situations and focusing on
what support families need/want
2 inside a refugee camp tent
6 inside a refugee camp school
• 8 mothers
Logistical collaboration with an
NGO
Challenges in data collection
• Following standard ethical guidelines in this
situation greatly limited the sample size
• Interviewer often only had contact with parents
once due to the nature of the refugee camps
• Very difficult to use a standard method of
informing participants at least 24hrs before
consent
• Difficulties in accessing refugee camps
• El-khani et al (2013). Ethical issues in research
into conflict and displacement. The Lancet, 382,
764-765.
Phase 2
• Recruitment: Syria and Turkey
• 4 focus groups, with 19 mothers
Carried out inside parent tents
• 2 interviews with professional aid workers;
One camp doctor and one project manager of
an international NGO
• Interviews were audio recorded
The parenting challenges of displaced
families
Parenting challenges in refugee
situations
Environmental specific challenges
Child specific challenges
Parent specific challenges
Environmental challenges
• Camp/living condition stressors
“I don’t like them far, how do I know what they
are doing? Everything is new here. How can I
balance giving them freedom I know they need
with keeping them safe? It’s very hard”
• Barriers to accessing support
• Lack of basic essential needs
Child specific challenges
• Behaviour changes
“They are spitting and hitting and shouting and using
bad words. Sometimes I can’t believe these are my
children, we all say this. They are very bad now”
• Emotional challenges and signs of trauma
“They cry at night, they scream a lot while they are
sleeping. They are very angry. They have so many
unanswered questions that I do not know how to
answer”
Parent specific challenges
• Loss of control
“I can not control anything around me. We are
living each second unaware of what’s coming
next. You asked me what it’s like to be a mum
now, well this is it, it’s like we are not mums, we
are just keeping kids alive by feeding them and
making sure they are alive and safe”
• Parents own emotional challenges
“I shout at him ‘enough! come on you must stop
looking sad’. I know before you say that’s all
wrong, what else can I do?”
• Maladaptive discipline techniques
“I hate hitting them (children). I really hate it.
Especially as they have been through a lot of
hard things..I wish I knew how to be more in
control of my feelings like I was before, to
know how to do the right thing”
Key messages
• There is a crucial need for family skills training
to support parents/caregivers who are
displaced due to war and conflict
• Despite all the traumas of displacement,
parents are motivated to be the best parents
they can be
• We need to identify cost-effective ways of
delivering such programs to these displaced
families
Aala.el-khani@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
Rachel.calam@manchester.ac.uk
Fiona.ulph@manchester.ac.uk