Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies
An International Interdisciplinary Journal for Research, Policy and Care
Volume 11, Issue 2, 2016
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rvch20/current

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Original Articles
An art therapy intervention for symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety among Syrian refugee children
pages 89-102
Nilay Ugurlu, Leyla Akca & Ceren Acarturk
DOI:10.1080/17450128.2016.1181288
Published online: 26 Apr 2016
ABSTRACT
This study first examined the prevalence of psychological symptoms among Syrian refugee children (N = 64) and assessed the effect of an art therapy intervention on post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety symptoms. The Stressful Life Events (SLE) Questionnaire was used to measure stressful and traumatic experiences. The main outcome measures were UCLA Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Parent version, Child Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Scale. After the baseline assessment, a five-day art therapy intervention, which is based on Skills for Psychological Recovery, was implemented. Findings of the study indicated that 60.3% (N = 35) of Syrian children who participated had high risk to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to the SLE scale. The 23.4% of the children had PTSD symptoms while the 17.6% showed severe depression symptoms. Moreover, the 14.4% of the children showed severe levels of state anxiety symptoms and the 31.1% showed severe levels of trait anxiety symptoms. Findings of the study indicated that trauma, depression and trait anxiety symptoms of children were significantly reduced at the post-assessment. However, for state anxiety scores, significant differences between pre- and post-assessments did not appear. Therefore, it could be said that art therapy may be an effective method to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and trait anxiety symptoms among refugee children.

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ARTICLE
The health of children whose mothers are trafficked or in sex work in the U.S.: an exploratory study
pages 127-135
Brian Willis, Diane Vines, Sara Bubar & Maria Ramirez Suchard
DOI:10.1080/17450128.2016.1189019
Published online: 30 May 2016
ABSTRACT
The goal of this exploratory study was to identify health problems experienced by children whose mothers are trafficked or in sex work in the U.S. and the proportion of the children who experience these health problems. Participants were adult survivors of sex trafficking and adult women in sex work. They were asked about the health of children whose mothers were trafficked or in sex work but not about their own children. This approach allows participants to discuss sensitive issues but without having to share potentially negative information about their own children. Participants were asked to identify the common and serious health problems among the children based on their observations, to rank the problems in order of seriousness, to estimate the percentages of the children who experience certain health problems, and to identify the causes of death among the children. There were numerous reports of birth defects, fetal alcohol syndrome, blindness, neonatal abstinence syndrome, and physical and sexual abuse. Nearly a third of respondents (31%) knew of the death of a child whose mother was trafficked or in sex work, and 11% reported they knew of the death of a child due to physical abuse. The majority of respondents (89%) reported that some daughters are trafficked into prostitution. The median estimate of the percentage of daughters who are trafficked was 50%. Children born to trafficked adolescents and adult female sex workers in the U.S. are potentially at high risk for many serious and fatal health problems. The magnitude of these health problems is poorly understood but warrant urgent attention.