Important Final project

The Impact of Trauma among Undocumented Children By Group 2: Christina Rivera, Brooklyn Amay, Damaris Meza, and Talita Rivera

Introduction Among the United States population there resides many undocumented immigrants with families. About 44.7 million

immigrants lived in the United States in 2018 according to Migration Policy Institute (MPI). Over the years we have seen

how many families have been separated from their families whether it's at the border or from their own homes. The impact

of trauma among undocumented immigrant children is severe. In this presentation we are going to be talking about how

severe the trauma that these kids face during these traumatic experiences.

Goals/Objectives of Presentation ● To discuss the effects of trauma on child development-CR ● To examine mental conditions that result from trauma among

children. T.R ● To identify interventions offered to reduce disorders as a result of

trauma. T.R ●

Brooklyn, Christina, Talita and Damaris

Definition of Important Terms Guarnaccio,P., Lopez,S. (1998)

● Self-esteem- focuses on issues of self-identity and the extent to which the child feels valued in important social contexts such as family , peer group, school, and broader community

● Psychosocial distress- often assessed by eliciting a range of symptoms, emotions, and behaviors.

● Psychiatric disorder- a constellation of symptoms and behaviors that cohere in particular ways and more severely impair the child’s ability to function.

- CR

● Asylum Seekers- a person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another.

● Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)- non-profit organization that welcomes and supports refugees and migrants entering the United States.

● Program Adaptation- support the settlement and adaptation of newcomers by funding settlement organizations to provide direct services. -BA

● Trauma- a psychic disorder resulting from severe mental and physical stress.

● PTSD (Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder)- helplessness and fear resulting from past life experiences.

● Psychopathology- the study of behavioral and psychological dysfunction in mental disorders.

Damaris

-T.R

Why is this Important ❖ It is important to discuss this topic because

many people do not realize the short and long-term effects on the child and their community.

❖ “Immigrants and their U.S.-born children now number approximately 90 million people, or 28 percent of the overall U.S. population, according to the 2019 Current Population Survey (CPS)” (Bolter, 2020).

Aspects that impact immigrant children The constant need for change in children’s environment

○ Can cause confusion ○ Leave them in a vulnerable state

● Children lack cognitive development depending on their age and they may not understand fully the effects of constantly having to move or be with another family.

● Becoming accustomed to a new place may cause other challenges such as lack of resources, the need to learn a different language or learning about their new immediate environment.

Christina

Aspects that impact immigrant children The child’s mental health

● Distress and resilience seem to be common factors that these children endure during these times especially on their age of impact.

● Guarnaccio & Lopez(1998), mention three different dimensions ○ Self-esteem ○ Psychosocial distress ○ Psychiatric disorder

● Immigrant children go through a lot at such a young age and professionals should try to lessen the trauma that these children may experience by being more knowledgeable and providing more intervention programs to help.

Christina

Mental health of children ❖ Mental health problems that can arise may include depression, anxiety, and other types of

psychological stress. Depending on the age of the child and the severity of the situation they are encountering, these effects may vary.

❖ Forced parental-child separation can be caused by the child’s parents being deported, arrested, taken to a detention center, etc. All of these cases can leave the child vulnerable and left without any direction.

❖ Post- traumatic stress symptoms can be caused by a combination of trauma, a lack of a strong family environment/support, and stigma or shame that might be from other children around them.

Christina

Mental health of children cont.

❖ According to the study done by Rojas-Flores,Clements, Hwang Koo, & London (2017), the results indicated that children tend to internalize the issues regarding their parent’s immigration status and that children with parents at risk show higher levels of PTSD symptoms than the other children.

❖ There needs to be more support for the need of clinical and mental health interventions for the child population. There should be more programs in place to help families with children that are going through these situations. The younger the child is the harder it may be to find coping strategies to help them.

Christina

Effects of PTSD on immigrant children

❖ Hart (2009), discusses The Interactive Factors (IF) framework that can help illustrate some effects of PTSD of immigrant children.

❖ This framework uses three levels: the biological level, the cognitive level and the behavioural level, as well as recognising the influence of a child’s environment at all three levels.

Christina

Hart (2009)

What is being done to educate

Conclusion

References

Batalova, J., Batalova, J. B. J., Blizzard, B., & Bolter, J. (2020, March 31). Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states

Broder, T., Moussavian, A., & Blazer, J. (2015, December). Overview of Immigrant Eligibility for Federal Programs. Retrieved February 19, 2020, from https://www.nilc.org/issues/economic-support/overview-immeligfedprograms/

Danese, A., & Baldwin, J. R. (2017). Hidden wounds: inflammatory links between childhood trauma and psychopathology. Annual review of psychology, 68, 517-544.

Fass, P. S. (2019). The kids we don’t protect. Time International (South Pacific Edition),194(3), 21–22. http://ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=137480186&s

ite=eds-live&scope=site

Guarnaccio,P., Lopez,S. (1998).The mental health and adjustment of immigrant and refugee children. Child And Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics Of North America, 7(3), 537-553.

Hamblen, J., & Barnett, E. (2016). PTSD in children and adolescents. National Center for PTSD, in www. ncptsd. Org.

References Hart, R. (2009). Child refugees,trauma and education: interactionist considerations on social and emotional needs and

development. Educational Psychology in Practice, 25(4), 351–368.

Immigration Options for Undocumented Immigrant Children. (2018). Retrieved February 19, 2020, from https://castor.house.gov/uploadedfiles/immigration_options_for_undocumented_immigrant_children.pdf

Malizia, N. (2017). The psychological trauma in children and adolescents: scientific and sociological profiles. Sociology Mind, 7(01), 11.

Mares, S., Newman, L., Dudley, M., & Gale, F. (2002). Seeking refuge, losing hope: parents and children in immigration detention. Australasian Psychiatry, 10(2), 91.

Rojas-Flores, L., Clements, M. L., Hwang Koo, J., & London, J. (2017). Trauma and psychological distress in Latino citizen children following parental detention and deportation. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(3), 352–361. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000177

Roth, B. J., Crea, T. M., Jani, J., Underwood, D., Hasson III, R. G., Evans, K., Zuch, M., & Hornung, E. (2018). Detached and afraid: U.S. immigration policy and the practice of forcibly separating parents and young children at the border. Child Welfare, 96(5), 29–49.

Walkley, M., & Cox, T. L. (2013). Building Trauma-Informed Schools and Communities. Children & Schools, 35(2), 123–126.