How Belonging, Discrimination, and Displacement Affect Mental Health in Refugee Teenagers in Greece

What is it about?

This study examined what helps refugee teenagers in Greece maintain good mental health and resilience while attending school. Researchers asked 170 refugee students, along with their teachers and parents, about their experiences and well-being. The findings revealed that feeling like they belong at school was the single most important factor protecting students' mental health. In contrast, experiencing bullying, discrimination, or having their education interrupted made things harder. Importantly, the students' own voices and perspectives provided the most valuable information—more than what adults reported about them. The results show that to support refugee students effectively, schools need to create welcoming, inclusive environments where students feel they belong, while also listening directly to what young people themselves say about their experiences. Ensuring these students can attend school regularly without disruption is also crucial for their mental health and successful integration.

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Why is it important?

For Policy and Practice: It identifies specific, actionable factors that schools can address—like fostering belonging and preventing discrimination—rather than just documenting that refugee students struggle. This gives educators and policymakers clear targets for intervention with evidence about what matters most. For Resource Allocation: In contexts with limited resources, the Bayesian approach shows which factors have the strongest relationships with outcomes. Rather than spreading efforts thinly across many interventions, schools and organizations can prioritize what's likely to make the biggest difference. For Refugee Integration: Greece has been at the forefront of Europe's refugee response. Understanding what supports successful integration through education has implications beyond mental health treatment—it affects these young people's entire life trajectories, including educational attainment, social integration, and future opportunities. For the Field: It provides methodologically rigorous evidence in an area where much research is descriptive. By identifying protective factors (belonging) alongside risk factors (discrimination, disrupted schooling), it offers a more complete picture that can inform both prevention and intervention efforts.