IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v72y2026i3p471-482.html

From Displacement to Belonging: How Social Integration Shapes Psychological Resilience and Self-Compassion in Migrant Children

Author

Listed:
  • Aylin Arici
  • Taner Artan
  • Fatih Cebeci

Abstract

Purpose: Forced migration due to war and conflict has profound psychological effects on children. Psychological resilience and self-compassion are essential for the well-being of migrant children; however, the role of social integration in shaping this relationship remains unclear. This study examines the mediating effect of social integration on the relationship between psychological resilience and self-compassion among Syrian migrant children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 463 Syrian migrant children aged 11 to 18 years living in Türkiye. Data were collected using the Children and Youth Psychological Resilience Scale-12, the Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, and the Social Integration Scale. Mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between psychological resilience and self-compassion, as well as between psychological resilience and social integration. A weaker but significant relationship was observed between self-compassion and social integration. Mediation analysis showed that social integration fully mediates the effect of psychological resilience on self-compassion. Conclusion: The results indicate that social integration plays a crucial role in enhancing the self-compassion of migrant children by strengthening psychological resilience. These findings highlight the importance of social policies and interventions aimed at fostering social integration to support the mental health of migrant children.

Suggested Citation

  • Aylin Arici & Taner Artan & Fatih Cebeci, 2026. "From Displacement to Belonging: How Social Integration Shapes Psychological Resilience and Self-Compassion in Migrant Children," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 72(3), pages 471-482, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:3:p:471-482
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640251368025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640251368025
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00207640251368025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yue Wang & Zexin Zheng & Xiaoyi Duan & Mengsha Li & Ying Li, 2022. "The Relationship between Mindfulness and Social Adaptation among Migrant Children in China: The Sequential Mediating Effect of Self-Esteem and Resilience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cixian Lv & Peijin Yang & Jingjing Xu & Jia Sun & Yuelong Ming & Xiaotong Zhi & Xinghua Wang, 2023. "Association between Urban Educational Policies and Migrant Children’s Social Integration in China: Mediated by Psychological Capital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Liu He & Hamedi Bin Mohd Adnan & Ali Fauzi & Muhamad Shamsul Ibrahim, 2024. "The effect of social media engagement on social integration of elderly migrants in China: the mechanism of perceived social support and psychological resilience," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Ying Li & Yihan Jin & Huiyan Kong & Chao Feng & Lei Cao & Tiantian Li & Yue Wang, 2023. "The Relationship between Meaning in Life and Depression among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Cognitive Failures and Mindfulness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:3:p:471-482. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.