Descrizione del progetto
In che modo i geni e l’ambiente interagiscono per determinare la salute mentale dei bambini rifugiati
I bambini rifugiati che hanno vissuto situazioni traumatiche sono maggiormente a rischio di sviluppare disturbi psicologici. Mentre alcuni di essi sviluppano disturbi emotivi e comportamentali (ad esempio, disturbi da stress post-traumatico, ansia o depressione), altri mostrano una notevole capacità di recupero. Questa variabilità è legata alla complessa interazione tra le caratteristiche individuali, come i fattori genetici, e le caratteristiche ambientali. Il progetto CARINGTrauma, finanziato dall’UE, svilupperà un approccio statistico innovativo per esplorare le complesse e interattive relazioni causali tra i vari determinanti della salute mentale in diversi settori. Utilizzerà un set di dati unico proveniente da un ampio studio svolto di recente sui bambini rifugiati siriani e chi si prende cura di loro (BIOPATH). I dati comprendono variabili demografiche, genetiche, epigenetiche, neuroendocrine, sociali, psicologiche e ambientali, il che permetterà una valutazione completa dei fattori determinanti causali della salute mentale dei bambini rifugiati.
Obiettivo
Exposure to war-related traumatic events as well as displacement have been found to increase refugee children’s vulnerability for the development of mental health problems. However, there is substantial variability, with some presenting with mental health disorders, while others show remarkable resilience. One reason for this observed variability is the complex interplay between individual traits, such as genetic factors, and characteristics of the environment in determining mental health outcomes. However, the extent and nature to which individual and environmental factors causally interact to determine mental health outcomes in children remains unclear as most studies rely on correlational designs. Hence, we propose the development of an innovative statistical approach, combining advanced machine learning techniques and concepts of statistical causality, to investigate the complex and interactive causal relations between the various determinants of mental health across multiple domains. In order to achieve our objective, this new statistical approach will be applied to recently collected data from a unique longitudinal study on Syrian refugee children based in Lebanon (BIOPATH). The available data includes comprehensive demographic, genetic, epigenetic, neuroendocrine, social, psychological, and environmental variables collected from Syrian refugee children and their caregivers at two time-points (N=1600 at the baseline and N=1009 at a one year follow-up). The Experienced Researcher, Dr Claudinei Biazoli, a trained psychiatrist expertise in developing innovative models and analysing complex data, will acquire knowledge and skills in Developmental Psychology, Behavioral and Psychiatric genetics under the supervision of Prof Michael Pluess, a leader researcher in the field of Differential Susceptibility and Principal Investigator of the BIOPATH study, with additional support from Dr Robert Keers, with expertise in the analysis of whole-genome data.
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
E1 4NS London
Regno Unito