Trauma burden, coping patterns, and psychological symptoms in Ahiska Turkish children and adolescents displaced following the Ukraine war: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

War-related displacement may affect youth mental health through direct trauma exposure, family-level trauma burden, and coping processes. Ahiska Turkish families displaced after the Ukraine war are a historically important group because recent displacement may occur against a background of repeated forced migration and intergenerational adversity. This study examined associations between trauma burden, coping patterns, posttraumatic stress symptoms, child trauma-related symptoms, and general psychological distress in displaced Ahiska Turkish youth. This cross-sectional observational study analyzed data from 50 Ahiska Turkish children and adolescents brought to Türkiye following displacement related to the war in Ukraine. Participants completed the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-8), 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Turkish Ways of Coping Inventory, and Perceived Ability to Cope With Trauma (PACT) scale. Derived variables included child trauma load, parent trauma load, family total trauma load, adaptive coping, and maladaptive coping. Spearman correlations, hierarchical ordinary least squares regression models with HC3 robust standard errors, and sensitivity regression models were used. The mean age was 15.60 years (SD = 0.76), and 54.0% of participants were male. Witnessing explosions was the most frequent exposure (80.0%), and in 60.0% of cases both the child and parent were exposed. Child, parent, and family trauma load were positively associated with GHQ-12 scores in bivariate analyses. CRIES-8 scores were associated with helpless coping (rho = 0.37, p < .01) and maladaptive coping (rho = 0.34, p < .05). In hierarchical models, no individual predictor significantly explained PCL-5 scores. In sensitivity analyses, maladaptive coping predicted higher CRIES-8 scores (B = 0.57, SE = 0.25, p = .024), whereas no predictor remained significant for GHQ-12 scores. Family-level trauma burden was associated with general distress in bivariate analyses, while maladaptive coping was the most consistent correlate of trauma-related symptoms. These findings support trauma-informed and family-oriented mental health interventions that directly address helpless and submissive coping patterns. Not applicable.