Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Previous Traumatic Experiences On Haitian Child Refugees' Conceptualization Of Fear, Jessy Guler, Courtney Guler, Dr. Judit Szente

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

This study investigates how children's experiences as Haitian refugees influence the development of atypical childhood fears. Eighteen child refugees were interviewed about their personal primary fear objects and their interpretation of fear in a series of drawing and picture observation exercises. Five of these eighteen children were Haitian refugees. Each of the refugee children had one adult representative who was interviewed about the child, the family's demographic information, and the child's previous traumatic experiences in his/her native country. The refugee children and their adult representatives' responses to the interview questions were coded and analyzed according to themes. Results suggest that …