Understanding lived experiences and perceptions of resilience in black and South Asian Muslim children living in East London: a qualitative study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: It is important to promote resilience in preadolescence; however, there is limited research on children's understandings and experiences of resilience. Quantitative approaches may not capture dynamic and context-specific aspects of resilience. Resilience research has historically focused on white, middle-class Western adults and adolescents, creating an evidence gap regarding diverse experiences of resilience in middle childhood which could inform interventions. East London's Muslim community represents a diverse, growing population. Despite being disproportionately affected by deprivation and racial and cultural discrimination, this population is under-represented in resilience research. Using participatory and arts-based methods, this study aims to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience in black and South Asian Muslim children living in East London. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We propose a qualitative study, grounded in embodied inquiry, consisting of a participatory workshop with 6-12 children and their parents/carers to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience. Participants will be identified and recruited from community settings in East London. Eligible participants will be English-speaking Muslims who identify as being black or South Asian, have a child aged 8-12 years and live in East London. The workshop (approx. 3.5 hours) will take place at an Islamic community centre and will include body mapping with children and a focus group discussion with parents/carers to explore resilience perspectives and meanings. Participants will also complete a demographic survey. Workshop audio recordings will be transcribed verbatim and body maps and other paper-based activities will be photographed. Data will be analysed using systematic visuo-textual analysis which affords equal importance to visual and textual data. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Queen Mary Ethics of Research Committee at Queen Mary University of London has approved this study (approval date: 9 October 2023; ref: QME23.0042). The researchers plan to publish the results in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at academic conferences.

Promoting well-being in refugee children: An exploratory controlled trial of a positive psychology intervention delivered in Greek refugee camps.

Rigorously evaluated interventions that target protective factors and positive resources rather than ameliorating negative outcomes in child refugees are rare. To address this, we developed and evaluated a short, group-based resilience-building intervention called Strengths for the Journey (SFJ), which was designed for war-affected children. We conducted a quasi-randomized pilot study of the SFJ intervention with 72 7- to 14-year-old forcibly displaced children (Mage = 10.76, 64.8% female) in three refugee camps in Lesvos, Greece. Intervention effectiveness was assessed by measuring pre-post changes in well-being, self-esteem, optimism, and depressive symptoms from before (T1) to immediately after the intervention/wait-list task (T2). Four focus group interviews were conducted with 31 of the participants to discuss their views on the effects of the intervention and the continued use of the skills that were learned. Using repeated-measures ANOVAs, we found improvements in well-being, F (1, 46) = 42.99, ηp2 = .48, self-esteem, F (1, 56) = 29.11, ηp2 = .40, optimism, F (1, 53) = 27.16, ηp2 = .34, and depressive symptoms, F (1, 31) = 62.14, ηp2 = .67, in the intervention group compared with the wait-listed group (p < .05). Focus group participants highlighted the importance of SFJ in developing a sense of togetherness and building their strengths. Child refugees in low-resource settings may benefit from brief, first-line interventions that target protective factors such as well-being, hope, self-esteem, and belonging.