Refugee children's mental health and development - A public health problem in Europe

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleCommunication

Knowledge about refugee children's mental health has developed considerably during the last 30 years. From believing that children's reactions largely depend on their parents, it has become clear that children are influ-enced both by their own experiences, by the reactions of their caregivers and by the social environment in which they live. While psy-chological problems are frequent in children close to arrival in exile, follow-up studies have shown that the magnitude of the problems is reduced over time. Aspects of social life as well as stressful events in exile seem to be of paramount importance for children's ability to recover from early traumatization. Pro-longed asylum procedures, temporary resi-dence permits, delayed family reunifications, many school-moves and xenophobic attitudes is counteracting healthy development. The results of research on refugee children and youth indicate the existence of a large public health problem which calls for policy change and political action.
Translated title of the contributionFlygtningebørns mentale sundhed og udvikling- et folkesundhedsproblem i Europa
Original languageEnglish
JournalTorture : quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture
Volume32
Issue number1-2
Pages (from-to)163-171
Number of pages9
ISSN1018-8185
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

ID: 347654511