The Effect of Migration and Socio-Economic Status on Syrian Children Behavior in Halba Public Middle School in Akkar

The aim of this study was to uncover the relationship between Syrian students migration to Lebanon, social and economic status, the length of time in conflict zones and the behavioral disorder presented by bullying in Halba public middle school at grades 6and 7. This study employed a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology to answer research questions. The sample included 125 participants, divided into 85 Syrian student and 40 Lebanese students, a social guide addressed by the ministry of education in Lebanon for the school. Data from the student samples is collected using the bullying prevalence questionnaire by Ken Rigby& Phillip Slee, 1993. In addition to the test, a quantitative interview with closed-ended answers was addressed to the students, also a qualitative interview took place between the researcher and the social guide; finally a brief data owned by the school concerning the duration spent in conflict zones was collected as well. The research analyzed the data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS software, version 23, T-Test and ANOVA test. The results of this study showed a significant relationship between the economic status of the students, including the child labor and poverty, and the behavioral disorder (bullying), there was no significant relationship between the migration itself nor the social status nor the length of time they spent in conflict zones and bullying, and by discussing the results of the interview it was clear that other behavioral and mental disorders occurred among the students that werent tested in this study. These findings suggested a real need of a cyclic and periodic assessment for students generally and for students suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, in addition to an urgent need of a psychologist in public schools, and finally addressing laws that forbid any child labor among children. Finally, the researcher suggested for further researches, to raise a call in order to reach a state of immunization for childrens mental health.