Abstract
Objective:
This study investigated and compared the prevalence of psychological difficulties among Danish, immigrant, and refugee children.
Methods:
We enrolled 332 children between the ages of 8 and 18 years (148 Danish children, 81 immigrant children, and 67 children with refugee backgrounds), all from low-income areas of residence. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Symptoms Checklist, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale were applied.
Results:
We found significant differences among the groups, with Danish children reporting lower levels of conduct problems than both immigrant children (P ` .01) and refugee children (P ` .05). Refugee children also reported more peer problems (P ` .05), more symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (P ` .01), and more separation anxiety symptoms (P ` .05) than the Danish children. No significant differences with regard to age or gender were found among the groups.
Conclusions:
Our data suggest that, although immigrant children had higher levels of conduct problems than ethnic Danish children, they did not suffer from higher levels of internalizing psychological difficulties. However, refugee children were at higher risk for psychological difficulties associated with both externalizing and internalizing.