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Volume 5, Issue 5(Suppl)

J Child Adolesc Behav, an open access journal

ISSN: 2375-4494

Child Psychology 2017

September 28-29, 2017

September 28-29, 2017 Berlin, Germany

International Conference on

Adolescent Medicine &

Child Psychology

The psychological impact of immigration detention on child and adolescent asylum seekers

Kathryn S Miller

Healing with Play, LLC, USA

Penn Center for Public Health Initiatives’ Asylum Evaluators Consultation Group

here has been a surge in the number of people fleeing their country of origin due to persecution. Many countries, including

the United States, have implemented measures like detention to discourage asylum seekers from entering the country. Studies

have shown that detention can have adverse effects on asylum seekers, and can maintain or exacerbate the mental health of an

already traumatized population. Children are especially vulnerable to the impact of detention, which can have lasting effects on

their developmental trajectory and physical and mental wellbeing. We have evaluated a number of children and mothers detained at

Berks Family Detention Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania. For the majority, experiences in detention are correlated with the onset

or significant increase in posttraumatic stress, anxiety, depression, hopelessness and suicidality, as well as feelings of confinement,

perceived loss of control, invasion of privacy, and distortions in self-concept, world-view and future orientation. Families report

increased feelings of isolation, given their inability to access protective resources in detention (e.g., limited contact with family

members in the community, inability to fully practice cultural or religious beliefs, limited opportunities for socialization). Parent-

child relationships are negatively impacted, given that a parent’s ability to care for their child is compromised by the constraints of

detention. Children face barriers to achieving developmental milestones, given limited education and opportunities for play and

recreation. Families lack access to medical and mental health treatment to promote physical and mental wellbeing. Some families

have also reported abuse, neglect and inappropriate use of solitary confinement by guards.

J Child Adolesc Behav 2017, 5:5(Suppl)

DOI: 10.4172/2375-4494-C1-003