This paper examines the factors contributing to school-based violence and depressive symptoms among refugee students in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania. At the time of the study, the camp was home to nearly 130,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
The analysis draws on data from a cross-sectional survey conducted as part of a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating a school-based violence prevention intervention. The survey included a representative sample of students and teachers from all primary and secondary schools in Nyarugusu Camp. It included questions on teachers’ perceptions of the school climate, students’ sociodemographic characteristics, students’ experiences of emotional or physical violence from teachers or peers, and students’ depressive symptoms measures using the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire Child Self-Report (SMFQ).
The authors examined the associations between various measures of school climate—such as teacher-student relationships, teacher self-efficacy, teacher job satisfaction, and the involvement of both teachers and students in school operations—and student outcomes, including experiences of violence, aggressive behavior, and depressive symptoms. The analysis controlled for several confounding variables, including student sex, age, meals consumed the day prior to the survey, disability status, number of adults and children in the same sleeping area, living with at least one biological parent, home connectedness, school level, and country of origin.
Main results:
- Refugee children experienced high levels of violence from school staff. Over their lifetime, 81 percent of students had encountered physical violence, 34 percent had faced emotional abuse, and 3 percent had suffered sexual abuse perpetrated by school staff. In the week prior to the survey, 60 percent of students reported experiencing some form of violence from school staff.
- Refugee children also faced significant violence from peers. Over their lifetime, 28 percent of students had experienced physical violence, 31 percent had encountered emotional abuse, and 8 percent had suffered sexual abuse perpetrated by peers. In the week prior to the survey, 24 percent of students reported experiencing some form of violence from peers. Additionally, more than a third of refugee students reported behaving aggressively in the past week.
- Nearly one in ten students screened positive for depressive symptoms. Eight percent of students had depressive symptoms in the week prior to the survey.
- Opportunities for student and teacher involvement in decision-making were associated with a higher likelihood of violence from teachers. However, the quality of relationships between teachers and students, teacher self-efficacy, and teachers’ job satisfaction were not linked to students’ experiences of violence from teachers.
- Higher levels of teacher self-efficacy were associated with lower likelihood of symptoms of depression in students. The quality of relationships between teachers and students, teachers’ job satisfaction, and teacher and student involvement in school operations were not associated with students’ depressive symptoms.
- All school-level variables capturing perceptions of school climate were not significantly associated with the likelihood of peer victimization or with students’ own aggressive behaviors.
- Being in a secondary school was a protective factor against experiences of school violence from peers. Additionally, children in Congolese schools appeared to have lowers odds of experiencing depression symptoms.
- Generally, student covariates were not associated with student outcomes, with a few exceptions. Coming from crowded households was positively associated with students’ own aggressive behaviors, while reporting good home connectedness was linked to lower odds of experiencing violence from peers and of screening positive for depressive symptoms.
The authors conclude that, except for inclusive decision-making and teachers’ self-efficacy, school-level factors were generally not associated with students’ outcomes. Opportunities for student and teacher engagement were linked to higher levels of school violence, possibly reflecting a context where corporal punishment is seen as an acceptable form of discipline. Higher teacher self-efficacy was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms in students, suggesting that confident teachers may better support students’ emotional well-being. Additionally, students in Congolese schools were less likely to experience depressive symptoms, possibly because Burundian students had more recent experiences of conflict and displacement. While schools can act as an important protective environment for children, child refugees may also endure a host of adverse school experiences with negative consequences for their physical and mental health. While schools can provide a protective environment, refugee children may still face adverse experiences that negatively impact their physical and mental health.