Overcoming the challenges of managing mental health in migrant children

Acculturation stress is prevalent among migrant populations. The current study examines whether acculturation stress influences migrant children’s mental health through the mediators of the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. A sample of 484 migrant children is obtained in Kunming, China using a multi-stage cluster random sampling. Data are analyzed through structural equation modeling in Mplus 8.0. Results indicate that acculturation stress has a direct impact on children’s depression but no significant direct effect on children’s happiness. Acculturation stress also has indirect effects on depression and happiness via the mediators of need satisfaction and frustration. Acculturation stress is negatively associated with need satisfaction and positively associated with need frustration, which is further significantly predictive of children’s happiness and depression. Overall, this study validates the basic psychological needs theory in the context of China’s internal migration. Findings contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between acculturation stress and psychological outcomes and provide practical implications for future interventions.

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Migrant children in transit: health profile and social needs of unaccompanied and accompanied children visiting the MSF clinic in Belgrade, Serbia

Conflict and Health ◽

10.1186/s13031-021-00366-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tijana Topalovic ◽

Maria Episkopou ◽

Erin Schillberg ◽

Jelena Brcanski ◽

Milica Jocic

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Medical Care ◽

Social Services ◽

Social Needs ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Health Profile ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Daily Stressors ◽

Skin Conditions ◽

In Transit

Abstract Background Thousands of children migrate to Europe each year in search of safety and the promise of a better life. Many of them transited through Serbia in 2018. Children journey alone or along with their family members or caregivers. Accompanied migrant children (AMC) and particularly unaccompanied migrant children (UMC) have specific needs and experience difficulties in accessing services. Uncertainty about the journey and daily stressors affect their physical and mental health, making them one of the most vulnerable migrant sub-populations. The aim of the study is to describe the demographic, health profile of UMC and AMC and the social services they accessed to better understand the health and social needs of this vulnerable population. Methods We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using routinely collected program data of UMC and AMC receiving medical, mental and social care at the Médecins sans Frontières clinic, in Belgrade, Serbia from January 2018 through January 2019. Results There were 3869 children who received medical care (1718 UMC, 2151 AMC). UMC were slightly older, mostly males (99%) from Afghanistan (82%). Skin conditions were the most prevalent among UMC (62%) and AMC (51%). Among the 66 mental health consultations (45 UMC, 21 AMC), most patients were from Afghanistan, with 98% of UMC and 67% of AMC being male. UMC as well as AMC were most likely to present with symptoms of anxiety (22 and 24%). There were 24 UMC (96% males and 88% from Afghanistan) that received social services. They had complex and differing case types. 83% of UMC required assistance with accommodation and 75% with accessing essential needs, food and non-food items. Several required administrative assistance (12.5%) and nearly a third (29%) legal assistance. 38% of beneficiaries needed medical care. Most frequently provided service was referral to a state Centre for social welfare. Conclusion Our study shows that unaccompanied and accompanied migrant children have a lot of physical, mental health and social needs. These needs are complex and meeting them in the context of migration is difficult. Services need to better adapt by improving access, flexibility, increasing accommodation capacity and training a qualified workforce.

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SEPARATED KIN: RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES OF OLDER ADULTS LEFT BEHIND IN RURAL CHINA

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.3223 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S880-S880

Author(s):

Zhiyong Lin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Rural China ◽

Well Being ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Left Behind ◽

Rate Of Increase ◽

The Impact

Abstract As the processes of urbanization and globalization have intensified across the world, a burgeoning literature has documented the impact of emigration on the health of family members left behind in emigrant communities. Although the association between children’s migration and parental well-being is well documented, few have examined the health implications of children’s migration in the milieu of multiple children and further differentiated between children’s short-term and long-term migration. Therefore, I argue that it is not the geographic locality of a single child but the composition of all children’s location that matters. I further suggest that the impact of children’s migration on parental wellbeing is conditioned on the duration of children’s migration. Using a six waves longitudinal data (2001-2015) collected in rural China, this paper compares mental health (measured as depressive symptoms) trajectories of old adults (aged 60 and older) across different compositions of local and migrant children over a 14-year span. Results from growth curve models show that parents having more migrant children relative to local children experience a more rapid increase in depressive symptoms. In addition, older adults who have their most children migrate away for three or more waves of data have experienced the steepest rate of increase in depressive symptoms. These findings provide new evidence to support the life course processes of mental health disparities among older adults from the perspective of intergenerational proximity.

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How Does Dialect Ability Affect Migrant Children’s Mental Health in China?—Evidence From The China Education Panel Survey

10.21203/rs.3.rs-102897/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bairen Ding ◽

Yijie Wang ◽

Yang Bai ◽

Xiaomin Zhao ◽

Shizhi Huang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Peer Acceptance ◽

Children’S Mental Health ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Children's Mental Health ◽

School Integration ◽

Panel Survey ◽

Effect Analysis ◽

Local Dialect

Abstract Background: Mental health is a prominent problem faced by migrant children in China and has a profound impact on their academic and social development. Different from previous studies that emphasize the positive and negative effects of the external system, this paper, considering internal aspects of the migrant children themselves, regards language as an important capital and skill and empirically examines the relationship between dialect ability acquired by migrant children in the area of immigration and their mental health. Methods: Data are from the China Education Panel Survey of 2015. One-way ANOVA and multiple linear regression are used to investigate the influence of dialect ability on migrant children's mental health. Mediating effect analysis is used to examine the role of school integration between dialect ability and migrant children’s mental health.Results: Dialect ability is an effective protective factor for migrant children’s mental health. The more proficient they are in local dialects, the higher their mental health level. School is the center of the interaction between migrant children and the place of immigration and the main space in which they use the local dialect. Mediating effect analysis shows that, in this field, migrant children with good dialect ability can achieve social integration by expanding their school communication, enhancing their school identity and winning peer acceptance to maintain and improve their mental health. Conclusions: This shows that migrant children’s mastery of local dialects is conducive to their psychological development, and school integration acts as an important bridge between local dialect and migrant children's mental health, which reveals the importance of advocating language diversity and cultural integration.

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Perceived barriers to care for migrant children and young people with mental health problems and/or neurodevelopmental differences in high-income countries: a meta-ethnography

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045923 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. e045923

Author(s):

Vanessa Place ◽

Benjamin Nabb ◽

Ester Gubi ◽

Karima Assel ◽

Johan Åhlén ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young People ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Barriers To Care ◽

Health Problems ◽

High Income ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Perceived Barriers ◽

Qualitative Evidence Synthesis ◽

Children And Young People

ObjectivesTo develop conceptual understanding of perceived barriers to seeking care for migrant children and young people (aged 0–25 years) with mental health problems and/or neurodevelopmental differences in high-income countries.DesignQualitative evidence synthesis using meta-ethnography methodology. We searched four electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Global Health and Web of Science) from inception to July 2019 for qualitative studies exploring barriers to care (as perceived by migrant communities and service providers) for migrant children and young people in high-income countries with neurodevelopmental differences and/or mental health problems. The quality of included studies was explored systematically using a quality assessment tool.ResultsWe screened 753 unique citations and 101 full texts, and 30 studies met our inclusion criteria. We developed 16 themes representing perceived barriers to care on the supply and demand side of the care-seeking process. Barriers included: stigma; fear and mistrust of services; lack of information on mental health and service providers lacking cultural responsiveness. Themes were incorporated into Levesque et al’s conceptual framework of patient-centred access to healthcare, creating a version of the framework specific to migrant children and young people’s mental health and neurodevelopmental differences.ConclusionsThis is the first qualitative evidence synthesis on barriers to care for mental health problems and/or neurodevelopmental differences in migrant children and young people in high-income countries. We present an adapted conceptual framework that will help professionals and policy-makers to visualise the complex nature of barriers to care, and assist in improving practice and designing interventions to overcome them. Similar barriers were identified across study participants and migrant populations. While many barriers were also similar to those for children and young people in general populations, migrant families faced further, specific barriers to care. Interventions targeting multiple barriers may be required to ensure migrant families reach care.

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Inequality in health service utilization among migrant and local children: a cross-sectional survey of children aged 0–14 years in Shenzhen, China

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09781-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiatong Ke ◽

Liang Zhang ◽

Zhong Li ◽

Wenxi Tang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Oral Health ◽

Health Service ◽

Disease Prevention ◽

Injury Prevention ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Junior High ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Community Based ◽

Health Guidance

Abstract Background Shenzhen is characterized with the largest scale of migrant children among all the cities in China. Unequal access to health services among migrant and local children greatly affects health equity and has a profound impact on the quality of human capital. This study aimed to investigate differences in using community-based healthcare between local and migrant children and to identify the influencing factors in Futian District of Shenzhen. Methods Households in 12 communities in Futian District of Shenzhen were randomly sampled. Children aged 0–14 years were investigated using self-administered questionnaire - the 2018 Survey of Health Service Needs of Chinese Residents. Differences in healthcare including physical examination, feeding guidance, development guidance, disease prevention guidance, injury prevention guidance, oral health guidance, and mental health guidance, were tested between local and migrant children. Binary logistic regressions were used in identifying potential influencing factors which affected the use in the above healthcare items. Results A total of 936 participants from1512 families were sampled and 508 of them were included. Compared with local children, migrant children had less use of development guidance (OR = 0.417, 95% CI: 0.279–0.624) and oral health care guidance (OR = 0.557, 95% CI: 0.381–0.813). Children whose father received higher education level enjoyed a better use of disease prevention guidance as compared to whose father stopped at junior high school education or below (senior high vs junior high and below, OR = 1.286, 95% CI: 0.791–2.090; bachelor and above vs junior high and below, OR = 2.257, 95% CI: 1.417–3.595). Children whose fathers were blue-collar workers had less use of injury prevention guidance (OR = 0.750, 95% CI: 0.334–1.684) and mental health guidance (OR = 0.784, 95% CI: 0.295–2.080) as compared to whose father were white collar workers. Conclusions Except feeding guidance, healthcare utilization were lower among migrant children than among local children. Generally, fathers have a stronger influence on children’s use of community-based healthcare than mothers do. The potential influence of fathers in promoting children’s healthcare use behaviors should be carefully considered, and fathers’ attention to children’s health should be increased.

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Long-term mental health outcome of returning migrant children and adolescents

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1007/s007870050070 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 219-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

L. Vuorenkoski ◽

I. Moilanen ◽

A. Myhrman ◽

O. Kuure ◽

V. Penninkilampi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcome ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Mental Health Outcome

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Mental health problems of children and adolescents, with and without migration background, living in Vienna, Austria

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health ◽

10.1186/s13034-019-0295-y ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Teresa Gutmann ◽

Metin Aysel ◽

Zeliha Özlü-Erkilic ◽

Christian Popow ◽

Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Migration Background ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Stress Factors ◽

Control Group ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Related Stress

Abstract Background Compared to their indigenous peers, migrant children and adolescents are at increased risk for mental health problems. The aim of our study was to compare psychological disorders of children and adolescents with Turkish migration background and their native Austrian peers. Methods We analysed 302 children and adolescents aged between 7 and 18 years. The sample consisted of 100 Austrian and 100 Turkish outpatients with mental health problems, and 102 healthy controls, 52 with Austrian and 50 with Turkish background, recruited from various Viennese local child and youth centres. Results Native patients had more frequently externalizing problems (42.1%) compared to the Turkish-speaking sample (28%). However, in the control group, Turkish-speaking children and adolescents had higher levels of internalizing, depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to their native peers. Conclusions We found noticeable differences in psychological problems among children and adolescents with and without migration background. We assume that migration-related stress factors are responsible for these differences. Also, children and adolescents with migration background seek for psychological help less frequently than their indigenous peers.

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