Background:Half of the world's refugees comprise children and adolescents. Confronting conflicts and difficulties before, during, and after migration and seeking asylum affect their mental health. The present study aimed at investigating the challenges of mental health of migrant and refugee adolescents and children. Materials and Methods:A systematic review was conducted in the second half of 2016 using PubMed, Scopus, Magiran, SID, and Google Scholar databases. From the 2014 studies initially selected, 20 articles that specifically attended to examining the mental health of migrant and refugee adolescents and children were finally extracted. Results:According to previous studies, the refugee adolescents and children encounter much harm. In addition to psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-trauma stress disorder and psychosomatic pains, this group of refugees also suffers from a decline in flexibility and behavioral and cognitive functions. These conditions have been reported more often in refugee adolescents and children who have been separated from their parents or left far away from them. Conclusion:Before a crisis occurs, policymakers and planners should formulate and implement educational programs along with the participation of parents and teachers in order for children to cope with conditions of disasters, and in order to promote the culture of resilience. The health system, while developing special care programs must prioritize the training of its employees in order to provide services. Most studies have attended to the incidence of symptoms of refugees' psychological disorders, while it seems necessary to conduct intervention studies with the aim of identifying elements of risk and ways to resolve these elements.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.