By: Sumedha
Introduction
The global refugee population has been increasing drastically due to alarmed conflicts, political intervention, etc. Over 50% of refugees are children and adolescents. These people have traumatic experiences and burdens while adjusting to a new environment.
What are the stressors faced by them?
There are multiple problems they face when coming to a new environment and many psychological issues also come along with it.
1. The stress of war and persecution - the victims who are exposed to violence and persecution face various symptoms like - physical and mental health exhaustion, a decrease in response, feeling disconnected, and inability to focus.
2. The stress of displacement of home - these people face high mortality rates, physical attacks, sexual assault, abduction, and many more.
3. The stress of migration - these people face racism, discrimination and xenophobia
4. The stress of poverty - because of poverty there are many other drawbacks like malnutrition, child labor, domestic violence, and various diseases
5. The stress of language and culture - because they are coming to a new environment they find it hard to adapt to the new language and culture
6. Difficulty in finding jobs and homes - they are refugee-hosting countries that do not feel safe around refugees and often don’t give them housing facilities or jobs
Health issues
People usually face a lot of issues like post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), anxiety disorder, and depression.
1. Post-traumatic stress disorder - children who face violence or witnessed it are more prone to it because they often get flashbacks, nightmares, etc
2. Depression - the feeling of loneliness among children, the loss of loved ones, and the struggle to adapt to a new environment contribute to high rates of depression
3. Anxiety - they often are uncertain about their future, status, and family. These make them get panic attacks and anxiety
4. Substance abuse - refugee teenagers often use substances as their coping mechanisms which can change to addiction in the future.
What are the factors for health issues?
The factors affecting teenagers' mental health care
1. Traumatic experiences - they often face trauma because of the lack of necessities, sexual assault, war may lead to trauma
2. Discrimination and bullying - there are several cases reported for discrimination and bullying of students because of the lack of social diversity, religious differences, etc
3. Separation from loved ones - they fall into depression because they are separated from their loved ones which also contributes to isolation.
How to give them support?
1. Providing equal support to all children regardless of where they come from
2. Include refugee children and families
3. Protect them from discrimination and xenophobia
4. Health services
5. Community-based protection
6. Child protection
7. Freeing them from gender-based violence
8. Education
9. Awareness of different cultures
10. Family reunion faction and social integration
REFERENCES
NCBI Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9307067/
European Proceedings: https://www.europeanproceedings.com/article/10.15405/epsbs.2020.05.28
Bonyan Article: Bonyan NGO. (n.d.). Stressors refugees face. Retrieved October 4, 2024, from https://bonyan.ngo/displaced-and-refugees/stressors-refugees-faces/
McLean Hospital Article: McLean Hospital. (n.d.). Refugee mental health. Retrieved October 4, 2024, from https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/refugee-mental-health/
Ballard Brief: https://ballardbrief.byu.edu/issue-briefs/mental-illness-among-adolescent-refugees-in-the-united-states/
UNICEF Article:
UNICEF. (n.d.). Six actions for refugee children. Retrieved October 4, 2024, from https://www.unicef.org/children-uprooted/six-actions-refugee-children
UNHCR Article:
UNHCR. (n.d.). Mental health and psychosocial support. Retrieved October 4, 2024, from https://www.unhcr.org/in/what-we-do/safeguard-human-rights/public-health/mental-health-and-psychosocial-support
Comentarios