Child Psychiatry & Human Development

, Volume 42, Issue 3, pp 307–319 | Cite as

Psychopathology in African Unaccompanied Refugee Minors in Austria

  • Julia Huemer
  • Niranjan Karnik
  • Sabine Voelkl-Kernstock
  • Elisabeth Granditsch
  • Belinda Plattner
  • Max Friedrich
  • Hans Steiner
Original Article
First Online:

Abstract

We assessed the prevalence of a range of psychopathology among African unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) in Austria. Additionally, the predictive value of war exposure on PTSD symptoms was examined. Forty-one URMs were assessed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children and adolescents, the Youth Self-Report, the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index and Facts About You. As expected, 56% of youth had at least one diagnosis by structured clinical interview. The most common diagnoses were adjustment disorder, PTSD and dysthymia. War affliction marginally predicted (p = 0.065) PTSD controlling for age and gender. URMs had high levels of psychopathology compared to norms. Their PTSD rates were somewhat lower than found in previous studies. We discuss methodological and substantive reasons for this finding. Future studies need to examine URMs across the entire diagnostic spectrum and employ multi-method designs to yield valid results. The psychopathology in URMs has clinical and forensic implications.

Keywords

Psychopathology PTSD Unaccompanied refugee minors 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant (Jubilaeumsfonds) from the Austrian National Bank to Dr. Sabine Voelkl-Kernstock. The authors would like to thank Mag. Heinz Fronek (Asylkoordination Austria) for his support and advice.

Conflicts of Interests

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Julia Huemer
    • 1
  • Niranjan Karnik
    • 2
  • Sabine Voelkl-Kernstock
    • 1
  • Elisabeth Granditsch
    • 3
  • Belinda Plattner
    • 4
  • Max Friedrich
    • 1
  • Hans Steiner
    • 5
  1. 1.Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
  2. 2.Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral NeuroscienceThe University of ChicagoChicagoUSA
  3. 3.Rohrbach HospitalRohrbachAustria
  4. 4.Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Forensic Child and Adolescent PsychiatryUniversity of ZurichZürichSwitzerland
  5. 5.Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Child Psychiatry and Child DevelopmentStanford University School of MedicineStanfordUSA

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