{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T02:07:04Z","timestamp":1789006024329,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Royal College of Psychiatrists","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]],"date-time":"2025-04-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744243200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Psychiatry"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"S0007125025000297_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>There are 117.3 million people forcibly displaced because of war, conflict and natural disasters: 40% are children. With growing numbers, many high-income countries have adopted or are considering increasingly restrictive policies of immigration detention. Research on the impact of detention on mental health has focused on adults, although recent studies report on children.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025000297_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To synthesise data on the impact of immigration detention on children\u2019s mental health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025000297_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Systematic searches were conducted in PsycINFO, MEDLINE and Embase databases and grey literature and studies assessed using PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO registration CRD42023369680). Included studies were quantitative, assessed children younger than 18 years who had been in immigration detention and reported mental health symptoms or diagnoses. Methodological quality was assessed using the Appraisal Tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. Meta-analyses estimated prevalence for major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025000297_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Twenty-one studies reported data on 9620 children. Most studies were cross-sectional, had small sample sizes and used convenience sampling. A profoundly detrimental impact on children\u2019s mental health across a variety of countries and detention settings was demonstrated. Meta-analysis found pooled prevalence of 42.2% for depression [95% CI 22.9, 64.3] and 32.0% for PTSD [95% CI 19.4, 48.0]. Severity of mental health impact increased with exposure to indefinite or protracted held detention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025000297_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Immigration detention harms children. No period of detention can be deemed safe, as all immigration detention is associated with adverse impacts on mental health. Our review highlights the urgency of alternative immigration policies that end the practice of detaining children and families.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.2025.29","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]],"date-time":"2025-04-10T05:38:55Z","timestamp":1744263535000},"page":"870-879","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["The impact of immigration detention on children\u2019s mental health: systematic review"],"prefix":"10.1192","volume":"227","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-2306-7252","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Isabella","family":"Priestley","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Sydney"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Cherian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Perth Children\u2019s Hospital"},{"name":"University of Western Australia"},{"name":"The Kids Research Institute"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Georgia","family":"Paxton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Royal Children\u2019s Hospital"},{"name":"Murdoch Children\u2019s Research Institute"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zachary","family":"Steel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of New South Wales"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Young","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hasantha","family":"Gunasekera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Sydney"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Hunt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Sydney"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"170","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0145-2134(98)00053-2"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/da.20753"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1359104518758839"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/XEB.0000000000000054"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2016-011458"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2022.622"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref19","volume-title":"Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences","author":"Ziersch","year":"2019"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.bp.108.053223"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref6","unstructured":"6 Knight, A. What Have I Done? The Experiences of Children and Families in UK Immigration Detention: Lessons to Learn. The Children\u2019s Society, 2011 (https:\/\/resourcecentre.savethechildren.net\/pdf\/5485.pdf\/)."},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/08039480310001364"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/archdischild-2022-324442"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-018-1945-y"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ps.53.8.970"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3402\/gha.v8.28321"},{"key":"S0007125025000297_ref55","unstructured":"55 UNICEF. The Safety and Wellbeing of Children at High Risk in Detention Centres in Libya. 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Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}