RefSupport – Cognitive, social, and mental health functions of immigrant children – screening and supportive actions at school

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RefSupport project sets out to explore whether stressful or even traumatic experiences could play a role in children’s cognitive performance and ability to succeed at school. Immigrant children often encounter these experiences before and after migration and carry the burden of deeply distressing incidents related for example to forced displacement, war and discrimination after migration. Socio-economic disadvantage and lack of sufficient language skills are often proposed to explain the differences of achievement level between immigrant and native born children. Our mission is to find out what else might be shaping the learning outcomes.

Stress and trauma affect children on multiple levels. They are linked not only to mental health difficulties but also to cognitive and social development. Studies show that the more stress or trauma a child is exposed to, the higher the likelihood of developing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Trauma doesn’t just affect feelings, it can shape how a child learns and interacts with others.

Early findings of the project indicate that immigrant children report more severe trauma. Native children report more trauma related stress, but migrant students’ symptoms are closer to clinically relevant PTSD symptoms. Immigrant children’s weaker working memory performance is linked to traumatic experiences and trauma symptoms.

Method

Children, aged 10-12 were recruited from Turku area and Helsinki. Participation of the schools and classes were voluntary. To target immigrant children, focus of the recruitment was also pressed to recruit reception classes, where immigrant children learn Finnish language and get used to school among learning basic subjects. Participation of students are based on parental and own consent. The project’s data collection consists of two waves, each wave having two timepoints: T1 in autumn and T2 in the spring. Data collection is carried out by the research team in the schools’ classrooms.

The screening battery

Standard psychological assessment tools are often culturally and linguistically dependent, which means they may not accurately capture the abilities or difficulties of children from immigrant backgrounds, especially if they come from a non-western culture. In RefSupport we have chosen and built a screening battery which includes psychological assessment tools that require less cultural understanding. The screening battery is completely digital for the children and is available in nine different languages. The screening battery is coupled with a feedback tool to provide teachers and school welfare personnel information on the students’ skills and wellbeing. Feedback can be used to foster the students wellbeing in and outside of the school.

The screening battery consists of:

All of these are tested via a digital tool in a 45-60 minute session in a school class. The project is in late data collection -phase, with early publications in progress.

Team members

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Publications related to this project

Lahtinen, O., Kangaslampi, S., Aalto, S. et al. Cognitive, social, and mental health functions of refugee children – screening and supportive actions at school: a study protocol. BMC Psychol 12, 251 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01752-3 (Method article of the project)