Mental health issues in unaccompanied refugee minors

Huemer, Julia; Karnik, Niranjan S.; Voelkl-Kernstock, Sabine; Granditsch, Elisabeth; Dervic, Kanita; Friedrich, Max; Steiner, Hans

doi:10.1186/1753-2000-3-13

Cited by 200 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In structured psychiatric interviews with 10 families, with a total of 20 children who were detained for a prolonged period in remote refugee camps in Australia (104), all the adults and children met the diagnostic criteria for at least one mental illness, and 52 mental illnesses were identified among the 20 children. Unaccompanied asylumseeking children seem to be particularly at risk (109)(110)(111)(112).…”

Section: Mental Health In Young Refugeesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma, exile and mental health in young refugees

Montgomery¹

2011

Acta Psychiatr Scand

173

104

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Montgomery E. Trauma, exile and mental health in young refugees.Objective: To review evidence of trauma and exile‐related mental health in young refugees from the Middle East.Method: A review of four empirical studies: i) a qualitative study of 11 children from torture surviving families, ii) a cohort study of 311 3–15‐year‐old asylum‐seeking children, iii) a qualitative study of 14 members of torture surviving families and iv) a follow‐up study of 131 11–23‐year‐old refugees.Results: The reactions of the children were not necessarily post‐traumatic stress disorder specific. Seventy‐seven per cent suffered from anxiety, sleep disturbance and/or depressed mood at arrival. Sleep disturbance (prevalence 34%) was primarily predicted by a family history of violence. At follow‐up, 25.9% suffered from clinically relevant psychological symptoms. Traumatic experiences before arrival and stressful events in exile predicted internalizing behaviour, witnessing violence and frequent school changes in exile predicted externalizing behaviour. School participation, Danish friends, language proficiency and mother’s education predicted less long‐term psychological problems.Conclusion: Psychological problems are frequent in refugee children, but the extents are reduced over time in exile. Traumatic experience before arrival is most important for the short‐term reaction of the children while aspects of life in exile are important for the children’s ability to recover from early traumatization.

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Section: Mental Health In Young Refugeesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma, exile and mental health in young refugees

Montgomery¹

2011

Acta Psychiatr Scand

173

104

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“…Similarly, in the United Kingdom, higher levels of psychological distress was observed in recently arrived young refugees, who had also experienced separation from immediate family (Durà-Vilà et al, 2013). As children's ability to self-regulate draws greatly from their caretaker's emotional state, it seems likely that unaccompanied minors run a greater risk of mental health problems following trauma exposure (Huemer et al, 2009;Loughry & Flouri, 2001;Lustig et al, 2004;Sourander, 1998). Similarly, psychiatric symptoms of PTSD and depression were more common and severe in groups of Cambodian refugees who did not live with a family member when they moved to America (Kinzie et al, 1986).…”

Section: Bonds and Attachmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying the ADAPT Psychosocial Model to War-Affected Children and Adolescents

Yohani

2015

Sage Open

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Multiple individual, social, and environmental factors have long been recognized as influencing a child’s response to traumatic experiences. However, there remain few socio-ecological frameworks to guide researchers and practitioners working with war-affected children. This article examines Silove’s psychosocial model of adaptation and development after trauma and persecution (ADAPT model) in relation to war-affected children. The utility of the model is explored by examining whether the systems of safety, attachment, identity, justice, and existential meaning described in the ADAPT model are represented in a narrative review of research from the last 20 years on the experiences of war-affected children and adolescents. Results suggest that research with war-affected children has covered all five psychosocial pillars in the model, but with overemphasis on the safety, followed by the attachment, domains. This review highlights that need for research and psychosocial interventions that focus on adaptation of war-affected children’s identity development, sense of justice, and meaning systems.

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“…Vervliet, Lammertyn, Broekaert, & Derluyn, 2014). For example, several research groups report prevalence rates for mental health problems of up to 80% in unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety disorders (Bronstein, Montgomery, & Dobrowolski, 2012; Bronstein, Montgomery, & Ott, 2013; Huemer et al, 2009; Jakobsen, Demott, & Heir, 2014), as well as traumatic grief and conduct problems (Betancourt, Newnham, Layne, et al, 2012b), the latter being the most frequent diagnoses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in war-traumatized refugee and internally displaced minors: systematic review and meta-analysis

Nocon

Eberle-Sejari

Unterhitzenberger

et al. 2017

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: The United Nations reported that in 2016 over 65 million people worldwide have forcibly left home. Over 50% are children and adolescents; a substantial number has been traumatized and displaced by war. Objective: To provide an overview of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in this group we conducted a narrative review and a meta-analysis of intervention studies providing data on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, anxiety, grief, and general distress. Method: We searched PILOTS, MEDLINE, WoS, Embase, CENTRAL, LILACS, PsycINFO, ASSIA, CSA, and SA for studies on treatment outcomes for war-traumatized displaced children and adolescents. Between-group effect sizes (ES) and pre-post ES were reconstructed for each trial. Overall pre-post ES were calculated using a random effects model. Results: The narrative review covers 23 studies with a variety of treatments. Out of the 35 calculated between-group ES, only six were significant, all compared to untreated controls. Two of them indicated significant adverse effects on symptoms of general distress or depression. When calculating pre-post effect sizes, the positive between-group results of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT) were reproduced and singular other treatments showed significant positive effects. However, the mean pre-post effects for PTSS and depression could not be interpreted due to the high heterogeneity of the included studies (PTSS: ES = 0.78; I2 = 88.6%; depression: ES = 0.35; I2 = 93.1%). Only the mean pre-post effect for seven active CBT treatment groups for depression (ES = 0.30, 95% CI [0.18, 0.43]) was interpretable (Q = 3.3, df = 6, p = .77). Conclusion: Given the large number of children and adolescents displaced by war there were regrettably few treatment studies available, and many of them were of low methodological quality. The effect sizes lagged behind the effects observed in traumatized minors in general, and often were small or non-significant. However, CBT and IPT showed promising results that need further replication.

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Mental health issues in unaccompanied refugee minors

Cited by 200 publications

References 28 publications

Trauma, exile and mental health in young refugees

Trauma, exile and mental health in young refugees

Applying the ADAPT Psychosocial Model to War-Affected Children and Adolescents

The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in war-traumatized refugee and internally displaced minors: systematic review and meta-analysis

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