[The mental health of asylum-seeking children in Denmark]

Abstract

Introduction: There is growing concern for the mental health of asylum-seeking children due to protracted periods of stay at asylum centres and an increasing need for psycho-social measures. The objective of this study is to survey asylum-seeking children's mental health in Denmark.

Materials and methods: The population comprised all asylum-seeking children aged 4-16 years living at asylum centres run by the Danish Red Cross. In order to assess their mental health the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was employed along with four questions from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children questionnaire (HBSC). The respondents were teachers of the 4-16 year-old and the 11-16 year old children. The data collection took place from October to December 2006. We received responses for 246 children, equivalent to 95% of the study population.

Results: Based on SDQ, 35% of asylum-seeking children showed evidence of having a psychiatric disorder. The results from the SDQ were supported by the results from the HBSC which showed that asylum-seeking children had numerous physical and psychological symptoms, poor self-perceived quality of life and a fragile social network.

Conclusion: Emotional and behavioural problems were highly prevalent among asylum-seeking children--also in comparison to children in the general population. This is in accordance with former studies. The causes of the children's condition should be reviewed and relevant psychological and psychiatric treatment should be secured. Furthermore, the long-term consequences of asylum-seeking children's poor mental health need to be clarified.