Dataset Information

Predictors of Literacy and Attitudes Toward Reading Among Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan.

ABSTRACT: Refugee children often face disruptions to their education before and during displacement. However, little is known about either levels or predictors of refugee children's literacy or about their attitudes toward reading in low- or middle-income countries. To address this, we conducted in-home literacy assessments using the Holistic Assessment of Learning and Development Outcomes with 322 Syrian refugee mother-child dyads who lived in Jordan (child age range 4-8 years, M = 6.32 years, 50% female). Overall, the children had quite low levels of literacy, although they indicated a strong enthusiasm for reading. Child age, maternal education, and maternal ability to read all predicted child literacy, although maternal literacy predicted it only among children enrolled in school. Among those enrolled in school (64.9% of the total sample, 88.7% of those aged ≥ 6), students attending hybrid classes had better literacy than those attending either solely in-person or solely online, although the frequency of school attendance did not predict literacy. A less consistent pattern emerged for predicting children's attitudes toward reading. Our results suggest an urgent need to improve literacy skills among refugee children in Jordan, as well as a need for validated measures of attitudes toward reading for use with Arabic-speaking youth.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13158-022-00334-x.

SUBMITTER: Hadfield K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9461418 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Predictors of Literacy and Attitudes Toward Reading Among Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan.

Hadfield Kristin K Al-Hamad Mays M Bakhti Rinad R Dajani Rana R El Kharouf Amal A Michalek Julia J Mukunzi Joana J Qtaishat Lina L Sethi Tanvi T von Stumm Sophie S Mareschal Isabelle I

International journal of early childhood = Revue internationale de l'enfance prescolaire = Revista internacional de la infancia pre-escolar 20220909

Refugee children often face disruptions to their education before and during displacement. However, little is known about either levels or predictors of refugee children's literacy or about their attitudes toward reading in low- or middle-income countries. To address this, we conducted in-home literacy assessments using the Holistic Assessment of Learning and Development Outcomes with 322 Syrian refugee mother-child dyads who lived in Jordan (child age range 4-8 years, <i>M</i> = 6.32 years, 50% ...[more]

PMID: 36105520

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Project description:BackgroundMounting evidence is revealing disparities in cognitive function and heightened dementia risk among refugees, yet research in this area remains scant. Despite bearing most of the world's refugee burden, limited-resource countries like Jordan are facing challenges when dealing with refugee health. There is a lack of research on the attitudes toward dementia and the cognitive healthcare gaps among refugees in Jordan.Methods32 older (≥ 55 years) Syrian refugees resettled in Jordan were recruited through a local community-based organization and interviewed in four focus groups (2 female and 2 male groups). Interviews were transcribed and translated, then coded using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsMean age of the sample was 60.1 years and 53.1% were female. Only 34.4% rated their memory as good or excellent. Themes were organized using the socioecological model: 1) At the individual level, participants believed high levels of stress, including low socioeconomic status, poor health, and traumatic history from their refugee experience increased their dementia risk. 2) Interpersonally, there is a fear of dementia due to the possible impact and burden on loved ones, particularly with the stigma surrounding dementia. 3) At the community level, participants noted that resettlement in Jordan - with a shared language, religion, and culture - offered protective effects due to facilitated access to social connection, information, and mental health self-care. 4) At the institution and policy level, participants believed older refugees faced restrictive policies for economic aid, healthcare, and employment, presenting a significant barrier to healthy aging.ConclusionsFindings from this study are the first to examine the attitudes of Syrian refugees in Jordan toward dementia and cognitive aging. These results could provide essential data inclusive of refugees as Jordan develops its National Dementia Plan. Investing in dementia awareness interventions and age-friendly neighborhoods may benefit aging refugees in limited-resources settings.

Project description:The home learning environment plays an important role for children's early competencies development. In particular, the early home literacy environment (HLE) that consists of all literacy resources and interactions in a family that support children's linguistic and literacy learning is closely associated with children's language comprehension and production. A key aspect of the HLE is shared reading that should start early in children's life and should be part of a regular routine in the family. However, parental attitudes toward (shared) reading have hardly been analyzed. In this longitudinal study, we analyzed the associations between parental attitudes toward shared reading and children's linguistic competencies and whether these associations may be mediated by the HLE. Further, we were interested in changes of parental attitudes over time and their association with child and family background characteristics. The sample consisted of N = 133 children with an average age of about 3 years at t1. Children were tested two more times with a 6-month period in-between each assessment. Parental attitudes toward shared reading, socioeconomic status (SES), and the HLE were assessed via parental survey. Children's sentence comprehension, productive language, and grammar were measured with a standardized test battery. Children whose parents had a more positive attitude toward shared reading not only lived in a greater quality HLE but also performed better in the linguistic tests. In a structural equation model, an indirect effect was found showing that the HLE mediated the effect of parental attitudes on children's linguistic competencies. Further, parental attitudes toward shared reading did not change significantly across t1 to t3, and a lower score in the SES scale was associated with a less positive attitude toward shared reading. Consequently, parental attitudes toward shared reading seem to be an important basis for individual differences in the quality of the HLE and also for children's linguistic competencies. As these attitudes vary in the context of different family SES backgrounds, they may be a good target for interventions to support the quality of the HLE and young children's linguistic learning.

Project description:BackgroundApproximately 18,000 Syrian refugees have resettled to the United States. Half of these refugees are children, whose age and refugee status jeopardize their abilities to attain quality healthcare. Information on Syrian refugees' health in the U.S. is limited. This qualitative study sought to explore Syrian refugee parents' beliefs, perspectives, and practices regarding their children's health through in-depth interviews.MethodsEighteen Syrian refugee parents residing in Cincinnati, Ohio were interviewed in Arabic by bilingual researchers using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and translated. Three members of the research team independently coded each interview using an inductive thematic analysis approach.ResultsAnalysis identified four salient themes: stressors preclude health seeking behaviors, parents perceive health barriers, parents are dissatisfied with the healthcare system, and parents use resilience behaviors to overcome barriers. Stressors included poor housing and neighborhoods, reliving traumatic experiences, depression and anxiety, and social isolation. Dissatisfaction included emergency room wait times, lack of testing and prescriptions. Health barriers included missed appointments and inadequate transportation, translation services, health literacy and care coordination. Parents reported resilience through faith, by seeking knowledge, use of natural remedies, and utilizing community resources.ConclusionThis qualitative study provides information on the beliefs, practices, and behaviors of Syrian refugee parents related to health care utilization of pediatric refugees in the United States. Psychosocial and environmental stressors as well as perceived systemic health barriers, hinder health seeking behaviors in Syrian refugee parents. Culturally relevant care targeting perceived barriers and incorporating resilience behaviors may improve parental satisfaction and parental health seeking behaviors. Further study is needed to implement and evaluate interventions that target identified barriers.

Dataset Information

Predictors of Literacy and Attitudes Toward Reading Among Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan.

Supplementary information

Publications

Predictors of Literacy and Attitudes Toward Reading Among Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan.

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