Abuse, Migration Trauma, and Object Relations in Refugee Children: A Theoretical and Clinical Review
Abuse, Migration Trauma, and Object Relations in Refugee Children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63175/tjts.52Keywords:
Child Abuse, Developmental Trauma, Internalized Object Representations, Refugee Children, Object RelationsAbstract
Refugee children constitute one of the most vulnerable groups within populations exposed to multiple and mass traumatic experiences such as forced migration, war, violence, family separation, and the disruption of caregiving systems. Inherently traumatic in nature, the refugee experience places children at heightened risk of severe forms of abuse, including physical abuse, emotional neglect, sexual exploitation, child labor, and early marriage. These risks become particularly pronounced in contexts where child protection systems are weakened or have completely collapsed. The aim of this narrative review is to examine abuse in refugee children within the framework of object relations theory and to discuss the long-term effects of these experiences on children’s psychological development from a theoretical perspective.
In exploring the disruptive effects of chronic trauma and abuse on internalized object representations and self-structures, the review conceptualizes forced migration, persistent threat perception, and abuse experiences as external realities that contribute to the dominance of “bad object” representations, the reinforcement of splitting. Within this context, migration-related trauma and experiences of abuse are linked to predominant paranoid–schizoid functioning.
This review frames abuse in refugee children not merely as an environmental risk factor, but as a form of structural trauma with profound and enduring effects on the psychic apparatus. Finally, the clinical implications of these findings are discussed, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed, relational, and culturally sensitive psychotherapeutic approaches.
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