ArticleBJPsych open2021
Mental health of unaccompanied children: effects of U.S. immigration policies.
Article in BJPsych open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immigration detention of children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of physical and mental health impacts.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Can we protect refugee children from mental health problems?- a scoping review of modifiable factors to inform preventive interventions.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Approaching pediatric mental health screening and care in immigration detention.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2025Review
- Persistence of Emotional Distress in Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Adolescents Primarily From the Northern Triangle of Central America.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Legal Relief for Children in Immigrant Families: A Mixed-Methods Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Trauma and US Minority Children and Youth.Current psychiatry reports · 2022Review
- The United States detention system for migrants: Patterns of negligence and inconsistency.Journal of migration and health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is an unprecedented surge of forcibly displaced people globally, with a crisis of unaccompanied minors seeking haven across the US border.
aimsThis paper aims to provide an understanding of the intersection between mental health and immigration policies.
methodExamples of contemporary policies that focus on the deterrence, detention and deportation of unaccompanied minors in the USA, will be discussed, as well as the mental health effects of such 'iron triangle' immigration policies.
resultsIn the ideal circumstances, systems and policies for migrant children would uphold international humanitarian law, hasten the shift from enforcement to protection, adhere to a 'do no (further) harm' model that uses a trauma-informed, culturally responsive approach to engaging with migrant children, engage the community as stakeholders to end detention and advocate to share the burden of responsibility.
conclusionsBuilding a humanitarian response that protects both country and migrant interest is possible through commitment and policy change that addresses mental, physical and legal protection needs.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.