E. Elhabir et al., TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN LEBANESE REFUGEE CHILDREN, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 28(1), 1994, pp. 100-105
Research on the psychological status of children who are refugees from
war has led to varying results. Children from war conditions or who h
ave been subject to evacuation have been shown to have relatively low
levels of disturbed behaviour, have internalising symptoms of anxiety
or depression, display behaviour with aggressive features, and suffer
slight psychological disturbance, depending on their caretakers' respo
nse to the stressful experience. Based on the contrasting evidence and
observations within an inner Melbourne Muslim school, this study aime
d to determine whether more behaviour problems existed in Muslim child
ren from Lebanese families. Compared with other war refugee Muslim imm
igrant children, Lebanese children were not found to be more aggressiv
e, but were more anxious. Lebanese males displayed more inattentive be
haviour at school than non-Lebanese males. Sex differences were found
in adaptive functioning within Lebanese and non-Lebanese groups. Diffe
rences in school performance and adaptive functioning were found betwe
en Lebanese and normative samples when males and females were analysed
separately. These results are discussed in the context of teacher exp
ectations and perceptions of culturally acceptable behaviour.