Refugee Children & Detention

Studying the psychological well-being of rufugee children after release from family immigration detention

Project Summary: 

In the spring and summer of 2014, the US experienced the largest single surge of mothers with minor children migrating through Mexico to the US from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. About 68,000 mothers and children were apprehended at the US border, and the US created family detention centers, two of them in South Texas, to hold tens of thousands of mothers and children, some held for periods ranging from a few weeks to years.

This study developed methods for studying the psychosocial wellbeing of children who were held with their mothers in detention centers for weeks and months during critical childhood development. The objective of this study is to understand the conditions of these children after release and inform research and treatment efforts.

The exploratory aims of this study were to (1) devise recruitment procedures, test instruments, and develop qualitative interviews for studying Central American children previously held in US immigration detention and now residing in local communities; and (2) examine children's detention experiences and post-release psychosocial wellbeing. 

Project Details: 

Principal Investigators: Luis H. Zayas, Ph.D.; Deborah Parra-Medina, Ph.D.
Project Title: Psychological Well-being of Rufugee Children after Release from Family Immigration Detention
Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Project Period: 2019-2021