Indochinese Immigrant Children: Problems in Psychiatric Diagnosis

The psychosocial consequences for children and young people who are exposed to terrorism, war, conflict and natural disasters

“…Protagonists of the first ideology maintain that signs of emotional distress are expressed similarly by children of different cultures and that PTSD, for example, crosses the barriers of culture and language [61]. Protagonists of the second approach maintain 'that there is a broader range of posttraumatic responses to war situations, and notes the limitations of present models' [62][63][64][65]. Rosner [66] argues that 'even if posttraumatic stress can be diagnosed in many cultures over the world, it does not mean that it is the most appropriate of all imaginable categories in each of the cultures'.…”

The Mental Health of Refugee Children

“…The literature on refugee children reports a wide range of symptoms: anxiety, recurring nightmares, insomnia, secondary enuresis, introversion, anxiety and depressive symptoms, relationship problems, behavioral problems, academic difficulties, anorexia, and somatic problems (Allodi, 1980; Arroyo Cohn, Holzer, Koch & Severin, 1980; Gibson, 1989; Hjern, Angel & Hijer, 1 99 1 ; Kinzie, Sack, Angell, Manson & Roth, 1986;Krener & Sabin, 1985;Williams & Westermeyer, 1983). Heightened separation anxiety and regressive behaviors have also been noted.…”

“…Most of these studies, however, rely either on small samples of refugee children referred to psychiatric clinics or on case histories, making it difficult to generalize from their findings. In a clinical study of 21 Southeast Asian refugee children referred to a children's psychiatric clinic by their schools or family doctors, Krener and Sabin (1985) found four main reasons for consultation: behavior problems (44%), learning difficulties (38%), somatic problems (22%), and depressive symptoms (17%). In a descriptive study of 28 adolescent refugees, Williams and Westermeyer (1983) noted that suicide attempts, disruptive behavior, problems at school, and psychosis are the most frequent reasons for consultation.…”

“…Separation has been identified as one of the key elements of the process of migration; this is particularly true when people flee the country as a result of armed conflict, as separation is an everyday reality of war. Many authors highlight the importance of separation to refugee children (Arroyo et al, 1985; Barudy, 1989;Carlin, 1979;Charron & Ness, 1981;Ganesan et al, 1989;Krener et al, 1985). In the literature, depression, anxiety and problems of adjustment are generally the best-known consequences of this type of separation, among adults as well as children.…”

“…In the literature, depression, anxiety and problems of adjustment are generally the best-known consequences of this type of separation, among adults as well as children. In children, learning difficulties and heightened separation anxiety are also evident (Krener et al, 1985).…”