Supporting the mental health of forcibly displaced children

Close to 50 million children under 18 years of age are currently forcibly displaced from their homes because of armed conflict and other emergencies. Displaced children and adolescents are at increased risk of developing poor mental health. However, knowledge about how best to support their mental health and well-being is limited. In this Review, we consolidate knowledge on the prevalence of mental disorders in settings of forced displacement, discuss individual differences in response to war and displacement, and review existing mental health and psychosocial support approaches. Critical assessment of this literature indicates a substantial mental health burden among displaced children and supports a broad range of risk and resilience mechanisms. Although some specific mental health and psychosocial support interventions have positively influenced forcibly displaced children’s mental health, there is a need for more culturally and contextually relevant, accessible and evidence-based services that also address family and community factors during displacement. We discuss recommendations to ensure that these services are linked to strategies that target adverse conditions and structural barriers and strengthen the socio-ecological resources that contribute to children’s positive development and well-being. Mental health risk and resilience in children who have been forcibly displaced are linked to individual, social and structural factors. In this Review, Pluess et al. synthesize differences across children and communities impacted by war and other conflicts, and discuss the effectiveness of mental health interventions.