The mental health of asylum-seeking and refugee children and adolescents attending a clinic in the Netherlands

Transcult Psychiatry. 2007 Dec;44(4):596-613. doi: 10.1177/1363461507083900.

Abstract

We investigated the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of asylum-seeking and refugee children and adolescents referred to a child and adolescent psychiatry service in the Netherlands. Children with families and unaccompanied minors were compared. Unaccompanied minors had significantly higher frequencies of symptoms and psychiatric disorders than the children with families, both considered a high-risk population for mental health problems.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Ethnicity / ethnology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders* / ethnology
  • Mental Disorders* / psychology
  • Mental Disorders* / therapy
  • Mental Health Services / statistics & numerical data*
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Refugees / psychology*