Promoting well-being in refugee children: An exploratory controlled trial of a positive psychology intervention delivered in Greek refugee camps

Abstract

Rigorously evaluated interventions that target protective factors and positive resources rather than ameliorating negative outcomes in child refugees are rare. To address this, we developed and evaluated a short, group-based resilience-building intervention called Strengths for the Journey (SFJ), which was designed for war-affected children. We conducted a quasi-randomized pilot study of the SFJ intervention with 72 7- to 14-year-old forcibly displaced children (Mage = 10.76, 64.8% female) in three refugee camps in Lesvos, Greece. Intervention effectiveness was assessed by measuring pre-post changes in well-being, self-esteem, optimism, and depressive symptoms from before (T1) to immediately after the intervention/wait-list task (T2). Four focus group interviews were conducted with 31 of the participants to discuss their views on the effects of the intervention and the continued use of the skills that were learned. Using repeated-measures ANOVAs, we found improvements in well-being, F (1, 46) = 42.99, ηp2 =.48, self-esteem, F (1, 56) = 29.11, ηp2 =.40, optimism, F (1, 53) = 27.16, ηp2 =.34, and depressive symptoms, F (1, 31) = 62.14, ηp2 =.67, in the intervention group compared with the wait-listed group (p