An Exploratory Controlled Trial Investigation of the Impact of a Positive Psychology Intervention on Promoting Well-Being in Greek Refugee Children

Abstract

Introduction: Interventions for child refugees that are rigorously studied and focus on protective factors and supportive resources rather than reducing unfavorable outcomes are uncommon.

Objectives: To combat this, we created and assessed a brief, group-based resilience-building intervention called Strengths for the Journey (SFJ), which was created for children who had been impacted by conflict.

Methods: To address this problem, we developed and assessed SFJ. On the Greek island of Lesvos, 72 forcibly displaced children between the ages of 7 and 14 who were housed in three Refugee Camps  (RC) (Mage = 10.76, 64.8% female) participated in a Pilot Study  (PS)of the Strengths for the Journey intervention (SFJI).

Results: The effectiveness of the intervention (EI) was determined by contrasting pre- and post-intervention levels of happiness (hp), self-esteem (SE), optimism (Ot), and depressive symptoms (DS). With a total of 31 participants, it was decided to have four Focus Group (FG) interviews to get their opinions on the intervention's impacts and how the participants were still using the skills they had learned. We found that the Intervention Group (IG) considerably outperformed the Wait-Listed Group (WLG) in terms of happiness, optimism, and depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Participants in the FG emphasized the significance of SFJ in the process of cultivating a sense of unity and enhancing their strengths. Fast, frontline interventions that focus on protective factors like Well-Being (WB), hope, SE, and belonging may be useful for children who are refugees and are living in conditions with few resources.