Annual of social work, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1994.
Original scientific paper
REFUGEE FAMILY STRUCTURES FACED WITH STRESS SITUATIONS
Josip Janković
; Department of Social Work, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The research was done within the framework ofa broader project of offering help regarding the psycho-social adaptation ofdisplacedfamilies in a refugee camp in Zagreb. It is mainly directed to establishing of the war and life in exile on the mental health of children. In order to define these effects, 42 symptoms typicalfor children were recorded. Interviews with the mothers ofl 19 childrenplaced in one ofthefirst refugee camps in Zagreb has shown that 75.6% of these children sujferfrom 1 ormore different symptoms. The total number of symptoms recorded was 424, and 368first manifested during the war and life in exile. The possible cause of symptoms and their persistence are examined,for example, the time of manifestation and the relationship of mothers with their children. A very significant problem is the fact that the family structure is not unified and the typical family roles are not fully functioning. Mothers, who are the basic part of the remaining structure, are undergoing a stressful situation themselves and are not able to help their children to compensate for the losses that the war has caused. Some correlation has been found and presented in the table.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
198089
URI
Publication date:
9.12.1994.
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