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Biological Pathways of Risk and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children

Award Number: R01HD083387
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/14/2015
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2022

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Biological Pathways of Risk and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children - DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Every year millions of children are faced with the severe consequences associated with war and political conflict. Although it is well established that children exposed to war are at increased risk for the development of mental health problems, some children show remarkable psychological resilience. Vulnerability and resilience to war-related experiences have been associated with a variety of risk and protective factors across different levels of analysis including social, psychological, and biological factors. However, not much is known regarding the dynamic interplay between these factors, particularly how environmental factors interact with biological systems in the prediction of risk and resilience. The proposed research will advance the field by investigating the biological underpinnings of individual differences in refugee children's response to acute war-related trauma exposure. Applying a modern multilevel perspective, the study aims to explore the intricate interplay between psychosocial, neuroendocrine, epigenetic, and genetic factors in the prediction of risk and resilience related to the experience of war in 1,000 8-16 year old Syrian refugee children (and their primary caregivers) in Lebanon. Besides questionnaire and interview data, we will also collect cheek swabs (for DNA) and hair samples (for cortisol and other stress- related hormones) applying recruitment strategies that proved highly successful in a recent study conducted by the Lebanon-based collaborators. Overcoming limitations of existing work, we will take into account both maladaptive and adaptive outcomes in response to both risk and protective factors and investigate the development of resilience over the period of 12 months in a subsample of 650 children. The proposed interdisciplinary project includes research groups in the UK and Lebanon and has the following research aims: 1. Examine epigenetic, endocrine, and genetic differences between resilient and vulnerable children 2. Investigate genetic moderation of trauma exposure (gene-environment interaction) 3. Examine associations between environmental factors and genome-wide DNA methylation 4. Investigate the effects of protective factors on adaptive outcomes 5. Examine the development of refugee children's psychological resilience over time. A better understanding of how social, psychological, and biological factors contribute to the mental health of refugee children will be important in order t better protect war-affected children from the negative effects of political conflict and displacement and to promote their psychological resilience. In addition, the proposed project will elucidate more generally how environmental influences get under the skin, particularly, how risk and protective factors exert their effects on psychological outcomes through biological pathways and processes.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = -$12,764 )
2024	2019	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	327 MILE END ROAD	LONDON				GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	5	4/8/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$12,764
														Subtotal = -$12,764

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2021	2019	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	327 MILE END ROAD	LONDON				GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	5	4/22/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $423,167 )
2019	2019	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	327 MILE END ROAD	LONDON		E1 4NS		GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	001	5	5/29/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$423,167
2019	2018	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	327 MILE END ROAD	LONDON		E1 4NS		GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	4	2/27/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $423,167

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $436,379 )
2018	2018	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	327 MILE END ROAD	LONDON		E1 4NS		GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	4	5/23/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$436,379
														Subtotal = $436,379

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $432,132 )
2017	2017	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	327 MILE END ROAD	LONDON		E1 4NS		GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	3	6/13/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$432,132
														Subtotal = $432,132

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $435,605 )
2016	2016	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	MILE END ROAD	LONDON				GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	2	6/14/2016	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$435,605
														Subtotal = $435,605

Issue Date FY: 2015 ( Subtotal = $461,328 )
2015	2015	QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON	MILE END ROAD	LONDON				GBR	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	9/14/2015	NEW	$461,328
														Subtotal = $461,328

Grand Total All Awards = $2,175,847

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Biological Pathways of Risk and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children

Award Number: R01HD083387

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/14/2015

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2022

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