BACKGROUND Intergenerational transmission of trauma as a determinant of mental health has been studied in the offspring of Holocaust survivors and combat veterans, and in refugee families. Mainly negative effects on the children are reported, while a few studies also describe resilience and a possible positive transformation process. A longitudinal prospective cohort study of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Norway in 1982 reports a 23 years follow-up, including spouses and children born in Norway, to study the long-term effects of trauma, flight, and exile on the offspring of the refugees. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1. To study the association between the psychological distress of Vietnamese refugee parents and their children after 23 years resettlement.2. To analyse paternal predictors for their children's mental health. METHODS Information from one or both parents at arrival in 1982 (T1), at follow-up in 1985 (T2), and 23 years after arrival (T3) was included. The mental health was assessed by the Global Severity Index (GSI) of the self-report Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90-R) for parents (n = 88) and older children (age 19-23 yrs, n = 12), while children aged 4-18 (n = 94) were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). RESULTS Thirty percent of the families had one parent with a high psychological distress score ("probable caseness" for a mental disorder), while only 4% of the children aged 10 - 23 years were considered as probable cases. In spite of this, there was an association between probable caseness in children and in fathers at T3. A significant negative paternal predictor for the children's mental health at T3 was the father's PTSD at arrival in Norway, while a positive predictor was the father's participation in a Norwegian network three years after arrival. CONCLUSIONS Children of refugees cannot be globally considered at risk for mental health problems. However, the preceding PTSD in their fathers may constitute a specific risk for them.

中文翻译：

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越南难民儿童心理健康的父亲预测因素。

背景 作为心理健康决定因素的创伤代际传递已经在大屠杀幸存者和退伍军人的后代以及难民家庭中进行了研究。报告的主要是对儿童的负面影响，同时一些研究还描述了复原力和可能的积极转变过程。一项对 1982 年抵达挪威的越南难民进行的纵向前瞻性队列研究报告了一项为期 23 年的随访，包括在挪威出生的配偶和子女，以研究创伤、逃亡和流放对难民后代的长期影响。研究目的 1. 研究越南难民父母和他们的孩子在重新安置 23 年后心理困扰之间的关系。2．分析父亲对孩子心理健康的预测因素。方法 包括父母一方或双方在 1982 年（T1）、1985 年（T2）和抵达后 23 年（T3）随访时的信息。心理健康由父母（n = 88）和年龄较大的儿童（19-23 岁，n = 12)，而 4-18 岁的儿童 (n = 94) 则使用优势和困难问卷 (SDQ) 进行评估。结果 30% 的家庭有一个父母的心理困扰评分很高（精神障碍的“可能病例”），而只有 4% 的 10-23 岁儿童被视为可能病例。尽管如此，T3 儿童和父亲的可能病例之间存在关联。一个显着的父系负面预测因子对孩子的 在 T3 时的心理健康状况是父亲抵达挪威时的 PTSD，而积极的预测指标是父亲在抵达挪威三年后参与了挪威网络。结论 不能在全球范围内将难民儿童视为有心理健康问题的风险。然而，他们父亲之前的 PTSD 可能对他们构成特定的风险。