| Autor: |
Smeeth D; Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., May AK; Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., Karam EG; Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, St Georges Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon., Rieder MJ; Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada., Elzagallaai AA; Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada., van Uum S; Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada., Pluess M; Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.; Department of Psychological Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. |
| Abstrakt: |
Refugee children are often exposed to substantial trauma, placing them at increased risk for mental illness. However, this risk can be mitigated by a capacity for resilience, conferred from multiple ecological systems (e.g., family, community), including at an individual biological level. We examined the ability of hair cortisol concentrations and polygenic scores for mental health to predict risk and resilience in a sample of Syrian refugee children ( n = 1359). Children were categorized as either at-risk or resilient depending on clinical thresholds for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and externalizing behavior problems. Logistic regression was used to examine main and interacting effects while controlling for covariates. Elevated hair cortisol concentrations were significantly associated with reduced resilience (odds ratio (OR)=0.58, 95%CI [0.40, 0.83]) while controlling for levels of war exposure. Polygenic scores for depression, self-harm, and neuroticism were not found to have any significant main effects. However, a significant interaction emerged between hair cortisol and polygenic scores for depression (OR=0.04, 95%CI [0.003 0.47]), suggesting that children predisposed to depression were more at risk for mental health problems when hair cortisol concentrations were high. Our results suggest that biomarkers (separately and in combination) might support early identification of refugee children at risk for mental health problems. |
