Mental health of refugee children

Mental health of refugee children is often affected by pre-migration and post-migration stressors. Compared to other immigrants, refugee children are more likely to have serious problems associated with malnutrition, disease, physical injuries, brain damage and sexual or physical abuse. These problems may affect the child's cognitive, social and emotional development, leading to serious mental deficiencies/illnesses including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the term refugee refers to any individual who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

Approximately 44% of the world’s refugees are children. A child is anyone below the age of 18 according to the . Since 1980, 1.8 million refugees have been invited to live in the United States, 40% of whom have been children. An estimated 95% of them resettle with their parents. About 80% of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries. Presently, the largest refugee producing countries include Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan.

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