Review of Child and Adolescent Refugee Mental Health

Psychological Distress in Refugee Children: A Systematic Review

“…There are three general literature reviews concerning refugee children's mental health (Rousseau 1995;Berman 2001;Lustig et al 2004) and one integrative review (Fox et al 1994). These reviews describe psychological distress in refugee children predominantly as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other symptoms such as irritability, restlessness, sleep problems, somatic symptoms, and conduct disorders; they do not provide an indication of prevalence.…”

Socio-economic status and psychosocial functioning of internally displaced adolescents and adolescents from Belgrade

“…In a study of Bosnian adolescent refugees resettled in Slovenia, Slodnjak also concluded that there was no difference in the levels of school performance between the refugee children and native Slovenian children (Slodnjak 2000). In our research, internally displaced adolescents had significantly lower school success comparing with adolescents from Belgrade although there was no language barrier and ''Cultural Bereavement'' (defined as losing touch with the culture of home accompanied by a whole new set of cultural expectations, belief systems, and Social values by Lustig et al (2004) could be considered as very low.…”

“…Factors which have been identified as protectors from stress during the refugee experience are classified into three groups: disposition of adolescents, including their selfesteem and response to new situations; family support and a positive relationship with at least one parent; and environmental support from teachers, peers, relatives, and healthcare providers (Lustig et al 2004). Interventions in internally displaced and refugee population reviewed in literature can be classified into four types: individualbased, school-based, family-based, and community-based (Fazel and Stein 2003).…”

“…The whole experience of a refugee child is commonly divided into three phases: premigration, migration, and postmigration (Fazel and Stein 2002;Lustig et al 2004;Pumariega et al 2005). Postmigration or postdisplacement phase bring up new circumstances (uncertain residency status, low socioeconomic status, parental unemployment [6 months during the first year of resettlement, cultural conflicts, language difficulties, and ethnic discrimination), which increase the chance for mental health problems (Davies and Webb 2000;Lustig et al 2004;UN 2006;Bean et al 2007).…”

“…Postmigration or postdisplacement phase bring up new circumstances (uncertain residency status, low socioeconomic status, parental unemployment [6 months during the first year of resettlement, cultural conflicts, language difficulties, and ethnic discrimination), which increase the chance for mental health problems (Davies and Webb 2000;Lustig et al 2004;UN 2006;Bean et al 2007). The stresses, associated with discrimination from pupils and teachers, problems with language acquisition, feelings of inadequacy, and everyday struggles that surround friendships, can place middle school-aged and adolescent children at an especially high risk for poor adjustment during the postdisplacement phase (Birman et al 2005).…”