Mental health of detained asylum seekers

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 362; no. 9397; pp. 1721 - 1723
• Main Authors: Keller, Allen S, Rosenfeld, Barry, Trinh-Shevrin, Chau, Meserve, Chris, Sachs, Emily, Leviss, Jonathan A, Singer, Elizabeth, Smith, Hawthorne, Wilkinson, John, Kim, Glen, Allden, Kathleen, Ford, Douglas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 22.11.2003; Lancet; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adjudication; Anxiety; Anxiety - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Depression - epidemiology; Detention centers; Emigration and Immigration - legislation & jurisprudence; Government Regulation; Human rights; Humans; Longitudinal studies; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental Health Services; Needs Assessment; Organization of mental health. Health systems; Political asylum; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Refugees - legislation & jurisprudence; Refugees - psychology; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Suicides & suicide attempts; United States; United States; North America; America; United States > US; New York; Human; Nervous system diseases; Prevalence; Questionnaire; Political aspect; Central nervous system disease; Mental health; Refugee; Psychopathology; Psychosocial factor
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14846-5

Asylum seekers arriving in the USA are likely to be held in detention for months or years pending adjudication of their asylum claims. We interviewed 70 asylum seekers detained in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. We used self-report questionnaires to assess symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. At baseline, 54 (77%) participants had clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, 60 (86%) of depression, and 35 (50%) of post-traumatic stress disorder; all symptoms were significantly correlated with length of detention (p=0·004, 0·017, and 0·019, respectively). At follow-up, participants who had been released had marked reductions in all psychological symptoms, but those still detained were more distressed than at baseline. Our findings suggest detention of asylum seekers exacerbates psychological symptoms.