Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis : Psychological Interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Internally Displaced and Refugee Youth

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Objective: Refugee and internally displaced children and adolescents experience high rates of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Yet there is a lack of evidence of the effectiveness of psychological interventions in this population. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of psychological interventions on PTSS among refugee and internally displaced children and adolescents (PROSPERO CRD[masked]).

Method: A comprehensive literature search up to December 19th, 2025, was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, Web of Science, Epistemonikos, PTSDpubs and ClinicalTrials.gov. Controlled trials were eligible if they studied psychological interventions aiming to reduce PTSS in refugee and internally displaced children and adolescents. Study quality was assessed using Cochrane's RoB-2 tool. Outcomes were analyzed using a random-effects-model meta-analysis.

Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, providing data on nine active treatment conditions and 448 participants. Analyses showed a small effect of psychological interventions on PTSS reduction, g = -0.35, 95%-CI [-0.61, -0.09], and no significant effects on depression, g = -0.34, 95%-CI [-0.76, 0.09], and dropout, OR = 1.71, 95%-CI [0.35, 8.32]. No significant moderators of PTSS reduction could be identified, but pretest-PTSS, b = -0.30, suggesting potential greater effects for those with higher initial symptoms.

Conclusion: The findings support the effectiveness of psychological interventions in treating PTSS in refugee and internally displaced children and adolescents. However, further research is needed to understand, whether and why treatment effects appear smaller than in the general population, and whether this relates to migration-factors or factors associated with service-provision and -use or the need for intervention adaptations.