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. 2023 May 15:41:e2022079.
doi: 10.1590/1984-0462/2023/41/2022079. eCollection 2023.

Cognitive evaluation in unaccompanied refugee children: a systematic review

Dienifer Katrine Chierici  1 , Amer Cavalheiro Hamdan  1
Affiliations

Cognitive evaluation in unaccompanied refugee children: a systematic review

Dienifer Katrine Chierici et al. Rev Paul Pediatr. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Objective: This study aims to identify what existing literature has shown about possible cognitive alterations in unaccompanied refugee children.

Data sources: The search was performed in the Web of Science, PsycInfo, Scopus, and PubMed databases, including articles published in any year and in any language. The research was submitted to the Prospero protocol (ID: CRD42021257858), and the quality of the included articles was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Data synthesis: Memory and attention are the main topics identified, largely because they are related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, low specificity was observed in the conduction of cognitive assessments, leading to relevant inconsistencies in the collected data.

Conclusions: The use of psychological assessment instruments that are either poorly adapted or not adapted at all to the populations studied casts doubt on the validity of the data produced so far.

Objetivo:: Identificar o que a literatura tem apresentado a respeito de possíveis alterações cognitivas em crianças refugiadas desacompanhadas.

Fontes de dados:: Foi realizada uma busca nas bases de dados Web of Science, PsycInfo, Scopus e PubMed, que incluiu artigos indexados produzidos em qualquer período e em qualquer idioma. A pesquisa foi submetida ao protocolo do International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews — Prospero (ID: CRD42021257858), e a qualidade dos artigos selecionados foi avaliada por meio do Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Síntese dos dados:: Memória e atenção foram os principais tópicos identificados, em grande parte por sua relação com sintomas de transtorno do estresse pós-traumático. Contudo, foi observada baixa especificidade na condução dos testes cognitivos, levando a importantes inconsistências entre os dados coletados.

Conclusões: O uso de instrumentos de avaliação psicológica mal adaptados ou inadaptados para as populações estudadas coloca em dúvida a validade dos dados produzidos.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interests Conflict of interests The authors declare there is no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. PRISMA flowchart for the inclusion of articles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [homepage on the Internet] Global Trends forced displacement in. 2020. [[cited 2021 Jun 12]]. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/statistics/unhcrstats/60b638e37/global-trends-forc... .
    1. Silva GJ, Cavalcanti L, Oliveira T, Costa LF, Macedo M. International migrations observatory. 6th. OBMigra; São Paulo: 2021. Refuge in numbers. Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública.
    1. UNHCR UNICEF & IOM [homepage on the Internet]. Refugee and migrant children in Europe accompanied, unaccompanied and separated. [[cited 2021 Jun 12]]. Available from: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/87693 .
    1. World Health Organization [homepage on the Internet] Recognizing adolescence. [[cited 2022 Jun 21]]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/adolescent/second-decade/section2/page1/recognizing... .
    1. Martins-Borges L. Involuntary migration as a risk factor for mental health. Int J Human Mob. 2013;21:151–62.

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