The effects of emotion regulation and coping skills on mental health in refugee children: A cross-sectional study

Refugee populations worldwide are exposed to violence and trauma, leading to severe mental health challenges. Many refugee children experience multiple traumatic events and human rights violations, which increase their risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties. Emotion regulation and coping skills play a critical role in maintaining and improving mental health for children facing such risks. Although there is growing literature on the mental health of refugee children, important factors like emotion regulation and coping have not been sufficiently addressed. This study examines the effects of emotion regulation and coping on mental health among 120 refugee children (mean age 10.91 ± 1.61). Participants completed the Demographic Information Form, the Emotion Regulation Checklist, the Coping Scale for Children and Youth, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results revealed a significant medium to strong relationship between emotion regulation, coping skills, and mental health outcomes (P < .001). Regression analysis indicated that emotion regulation and coping skills explained 83.3% of the total difficulties score. These findings demonstrate that refugee children with stronger emotion regulation and coping abilities report fewer problems in attention, emotional, behavioral, peer, and social areas. This highlights the importance of interventions that build these skills to reduce the negative impacts of trauma. Health professionals should prioritize programs that enhance emotion regulation and coping to support the psychological well-being and adaptation of refugee children, who are among the most vulnerable to the consequences of war trauma.