COPING STRATEGIES OF REFUGEE, DISPLACED, AND NON-DISPLACED CHILDREN IN A WAR AREA

The authors have studied 105 children between the ages of 6 and 14 yea rs (35 refugees, 35 displaced, and 35 non-displaced children) in Croat ia. The aim was to establish the differences between the frequency wit h which the groups used coping strategies, their efficiency, and the e stablished relation between coping strategies and their efficiency and possible stress situation (anxiety, depression, psychosomatic changes , and psychosocial adaptation). In this study we have applied the Scho olagers Coping Strategies Inventory (SCSI), the Questionnaire of Psych osomatic Symptoms, the Psychosocial Adjustment Questionnaire, the Anxi ety Scale, and the Repression Scale. The results have shown that refug ee children use fewer coping strategies than displaced and non-displac ed children, and these are also less effective. We have established a significant correlation between frequency, efficacy, total number of c oping strategies and the results on the Psychosocial Adjustment Questi onnaire.