Away from home: psychological well-being of Syrian children at Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between levels of exposure to war and the psychological symptoms on the well-being of displaced children at Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan. One hundred and thirty-three parents of children aged 0–12 years completed a survey that measures exposure to violence, and the impact of such exposure. The findings indicated that the shock level experienced by the children was high, while the symptoms’ level that followed the shock was moderate. There is a significant difference between males and females in the physical symptoms where females scored higher than males did. There is a significant score gap between children according to age as to the exposure scale, where children aged 7–12 years scored higher. The findings revealed statistically significant relationship between children’s exposure to war and symptoms on their psychological well-being. Recommendations and implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Syrian Refugees
• exposure to war
• symptoms
• Azraq Refugee Camp
• psychosocial well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dr Betawi is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Jordan. Dr Betawi also served as Assistant Dean for quality assurance for two consecutive years at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Faculty of Graduate Studies respectively at the University. She received her BA in Sociology from BirZiet University and an M.Ed and Ph.D in Early Childhood Education from UTM and FSU, respectively. Her research interests encompass early childhood education, teacher’s education, young children’s social and emotional development, refugee studies, child and family studies, toddler’s and pre-schoolers’ development, and father’s involvement. She has published more than eight papers in world-class journals. Dr Betawi is an active member in many committees and serves as an editor for several international Journals, including Journal of Teacher Education, World Journal of Educational Research, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. In her free time, Dr Betawi loves to read, travel, and participate in humanitarian activities.

ORCID

Iman Amy Betawi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6936-9912