Mental health in adolescents displaced by the armed conflict: findings from the Colombian national mental health survey

Rivera, Arturo Marroquín; Rodríguez, Carlos Javier Rincón; Padilla-Muñoz, Andrea; Gómez‐Restrepo, Carlos

doi:10.1186/s13034-020-00327-5

Cited by 20 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Among the studies using general samples, 15 [ 17 , 18 , 20 , 30 , 39 , 47 – 49 , 54 , 55 , 77 , 79 , 83 , 85 , 88 ] reported on the prevalence of suicide attempts ( Table 3 ). The results are ordered by timeframe for the prevalence estimates and then sub-grouped by population type.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Six studies in general samples compared the prevalence of suicide attempts in displaced people to the host population. Only five of these studies [ 20 , 30 , 54 , 77 , 81 ] reported data in formats that could be presented visually in forest plots ( Fig 3 ). Two of these studies were in refugees granted asylum, one was in mixed refugees & asylum seekers, one was in internally displaced people, and one was a pooled report of mixed refugee populations across 21 countries [ 81 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Choi 2020 [ 30 ] adjusted for interview year; Stein 2010 [ 81 ] adjusted for person-year, country, demographic factors (age, sex, time-varying education, time-varying marriage), interactions between life course and demographic variables, parent psychopathology, and childhood adversities; Amin 2021 [ 20 ] adjusted for socio-demographic, labour market marginalisation and morbidity factors (i.e. sex, age, educational level, family situation and type of residential area, days with full-time unemployment, net days with sickness absence, granted disability pension, history of suicide attempt; history of inpatient or specialised outpatient healthcare); Sohn 2019 [ 77 ] age- and gender-matched; Marroquin-Rivera 2020 [ 54 ] unadjusted. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In one study [ 77 ] on mixed refugees & asylum seekers, they found a higher risk of suicide attempts. One study [ 54 ] on internally displaced people found a 4-fold greater risk of suicide attempt compared to the host population, RR 4.43 [95% CI 2.18, 9.00]. In addition, one study [ 79 ] found asylum seekers had a 3.4 times higher rate of suicide attempts compared to the host population (unadjusted).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suicide rates and suicidal behaviour in displaced people: A systematic review

et al. 2022

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Background Refugees, and other forcibly displaced people, face mental distress and may be disproportionately affected by risk factors for suicide. Little is known about suicidal behaviour in these highly mobile populations because collecting timely, relevant, and reliable data is challenging. Methods and findings A systematic review was performed to identify studies of any design reporting on suicide, suicide attempts, or suicidal ideation among populations of displaced people. A sensitive electronic database search was performed in August 2020, and all retrieved studies were screened for relevance by two authors. Studies were categorised by the population being evaluated: refugees granted asylum, refugees living in temporary camps, asylum seekers, or internally displaced people. We distinguished between whether the sampling procedure in the studies was likely to be representative, or the sample examined a specific non-representative subgroup of displaced people (such as those already diagnosed with mental illness). Data on the rates of suicide or the prevalence of suicide attempts or suicidal ideation were extracted by one reviewer and verified by a second reviewer from each study and converted to common metrics. After screening 4347 articles, 87 reports of 77 unique studies were included. Of these, 53 were studies in representative samples, and 24 were based on samples of specific target populations. Most studies were conducted in high-income countries, and the most studied population subgroup was refugees granted asylum. There was substantial heterogeneity across data sources and measurement instruments utilised. Sample sizes of displaced people ranged from 33 to 196,941 in studies using general samples. Suicide rates varied considerably, from 4 to 290 per 100,000 person-years across studies. Only 8 studies were identified that compared suicide rates with the host population. The prevalence of suicide attempts ranged from 0.14% to 15.1% across all studies and varied according to the prevalence period evaluated. Suicidal ideation prevalence varied from 0.17% to 70.6% across studies. Among refugees granted asylum, there was evidence of a lower risk of suicide compared with the host population in 4 of 5 studies. In contrast, in asylum seekers there was evidence of a higher suicide risk in 2 of 3 studies, and of a higher risk of suicidal ideation among refugees living in camps in 2 of 3 studies compared to host populations. Conclusion While multiple studies overall have been published in the literature on this topic, the evidence base is still sparse for refugees in camps, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people. Less than half of the included studies reported on suicide or suicide attempt outcomes, with most reporting on suicidal ideation. International research networks could usefully define criteria, definitions, and study designs to help standardise and facilitate more research in this important area. Registration PROSPERO CRD42019137242.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Suicide rates and suicidal behaviour in displaced people: A systematic review

et al. 2022

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“…For example, psychosocial support and training in parenting patterns for caregivers who are survivors of armed conflict may provide one avenue. More addressing structural challenges that weaken families can help to reduce post-exposure symptoms and promote recovery among conflict-affected children (Betancourt et al , 2015; Cummings et al , 2016; El-Khodary et al , 2020; Hall et al , 2014; Marroquín Rivera et al , 2020; Panter-Brick et al , 2014; Sim et al , 2018; Tol et al , 2014; Taylor et al , 2016a). Better integration of mental healthcare into primary care may be an additional step that has the potential to address the wider systemic effects of armed conflict on mental health (Rodríguez de Bernal and Rubiano Soto, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health problems, family functioning and social support among children survivors of Colombia’s armed conflict

Sánchez-Villegas

Reyes-Ruiz

Taylor

et al. 2021

JACPR

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Purpose Colombia presents with one of the largest armed conflicts in the world. Children exposed directly or indirectly to armed conflicts live the emotional footprints left by war. This paper aims to identify mental health problems among children survivors of Colombia’s armed conflict and associated factors. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study with (n = 80) children aged 7 to 11 years (M = 9.8 years; SD = 1.4) was conducted using the Child Behavior Checklist, Family APGAR and MOS social support survey adaptation to children. Linear regression analyses were also performed with emotional and behavioral problems as the outcomes and related factors as the predictors. Findings Clinical levels of emotional and behavioral problems were found in 56.3% of children. Internalizing problems (63.7%) were more common than externalizing problems (51.2%). Older children had greater emotional problems at the trend level, and those with higher functioning families had lower emotional problems. Children with higher perceived social support had lower behavior problems at the trend level. Research limitations/implications This study includes a sample facing multiple risks and uses a holistic approach to consider family and social resources that may support children who are survivors of the armed conflict in Colombia. These results provide a foundation for future promotion and prevention programs related to children’s mental health problems to support peacebuilding within the framework of the Colombian post-conflict process. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to collect empirical data on the mental health of children survivors of Colombia’s armed conflict focused in the Atlantic Department.

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