"I Have No Capacities That Can Help Me": Young Asylum Seekers in Norway and Serbia - Flight as Disturbance of Developmental Processes

A cross- sectional study of refugees in Norway and Serbia: Levels of mental distress and social-demographic risk factors

This cross-sectional study has assessed and compared symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among one refugee group during flight (in Serbia) and another refugee group after flight (in Norway). Results indicate high levels of mental distress in both samples of refugees (Serbia: N = 100, Norway: N = 78). Participants in Serbia reported higher levels of symptoms than the participants in Norway. Moreover, the study found that female gender, low education, refused asylum, high age, and concerns about family correlated with mental distress among the participants.

Afghan mental health and psychosocial well-being: thematic review of four decades of research and interventions

BACKGROUND

Four decades of war, political upheaval, economic deprivation and forced displacement have profoundly affected both in-country and refugee Afghan populations.

AIMS

We reviewed literature on mental health and psychosocial well-being, to assess the current evidence and describe mental healthcare systems, including government programmes and community-based interventions.

METHOD

In 2022, we conducted a systematic search in Google Scholar, PTSDpubs, PubMed and PsycINFO, and a hand search of grey literature (N = 214 papers). We identified the main factors driving the epidemiology of mental health problems, culturally salient understandings of psychological distress, coping strategies and help-seeking behaviours, and interventions for mental health and psychosocial support.

RESULTS

Mental health problems and psychological distress show higher risks for women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and youth. Issues of suicidality and drug use are emerging problems that are understudied. Afghans use specific vocabulary to convey psychological distress, drawing on culturally relevant concepts of body-mind relationships. Coping strategies are largely embedded in one's faith and family. Over the past two decades, concerted efforts were made to integrate mental health into the nation's healthcare system, train cadres of psychosocial counsellors, and develop community-based psychosocial initiatives with the help of non-governmental organisations. A small but growing body of research is emerging around psychological interventions adapted to Afghan contexts and culture.

CONCLUSIONS

We make four recommendations to promote health equity and sustainable systems of care. Interventions must build cultural relevance, invest in community-based psychosocial support and evidence-based psychological interventions, maintain core mental health services at logical points of access and foster integrated systems of care.

"Imagine, 7 Years Without a Future": A Qualitative Study of Rejected Asylum Seekers' Life Conditions in Norway

Asylum seekers are in an extraordinary situation as their future life depend on decisions made by authorities in a bewildering, bureaucratic system, with excessive waiting and unpredictable timeframes. Those that are not granted asylum, and not able to return to their country of origin, can neither spatially nor temporally visualize if, when or how a potential change is going to occur. This paper is part of a larger study based on narrative interviews with asylum seekers and refugees in asylum centers in Norway, exploring their experiences before, during, and after flight. As we found that the life circumstances for those being refused asylum, were highly different from other participants in the project, we chose to address this particular group in a separate paper. The participants in this part of the study consisted of 21 individuals (of a total of 78 participants) in the age range 18-44, of whom eight were female and 13 males. Trough qualitative interviews and participant observation the aim of this study was to explore and describe the life condition and mental health situation of rejected asylum seekers in Norway. We found that the gradual loss of rights, opportunities and finances are experienced as a form of violence that leads to extreme mental and social suffering. This policy clearly conflicts with Human Rights incorporated in the Norwegian constitution, and we argue that it legitimizes treating asylum seekers as a group of undesirable and underserving political bodies, with serious consequences for their mental health and wellbeing.