Health and Disability The mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors on arrival in the host country MARIANNE VERVLIET, 1 MELINDA A. MEYER DEMOTT, 2 MARIANNE JAKOBSEN, 2 ERIC BROEKAERT, 3 TROND HEIR 2 and ILSE DERLUYN 1 1 Department of Social Welfare Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium 2 Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies 3 Department of Orthopedagogics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Vervliet, M., Meyer DeMott, M. A., Jakobsen, M., Broekaert, E., Heir, T. & Derluyn, I. (2014). The mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors on arrival in the host country. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 55, 33–37. Despite increasing numbers of unaccompanied refugee minors (UM) in Europe and heightened concerns for this group, research on their mental health has seldom included the factor “time since arrival.” As a result, our knowledge of the mental health statuses of UM at specific points in time and over periods in their resettlement trajectories in European host countries is limited. This study therefore examined the mental health of UM shortly after their arrival in Norway (n = 204) and Belgium (n = 103) through the use of self-report questionnaires (HSCL-37A, SLE, RATS, HTQ). High prevalence scores of anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were found. In addition, particular associations were found with the number of traumatic events the UM reported. The results indicate that all UM have high support needs on arrival in the host country. Longitudinal stud- ies following up patterns of continuity and change in their mental health during their trajectories in the host country are necessary. Key words: Unaccompanied refugee minors, mental health, Norway, Belgium. Marianne Vervliet, Department of Social Welfare Studies, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Marianne.Vervliet@Ugent.be INTRODUCTION In recent decades, all European countries have been confronted with increasing numbers of unaccompanied refugee 1 minors (UM), comprising children and adolescents migrating to another country without their parents (European Migration Network [EMN], 2010; Eurostat, 2010). In 2011, Europe received 13,300 asylum claims from UM, making up three-quarters of the world- wide total, with Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and the UK regis- tering the largest numbers (UNHCR, 2012). These populations of UM, scattered throughout Europe, differ significantly not only in numbers arriving in the different European countries, but also in their countries of origin and backgrounds (EMN, 2010). The reasons for these differences are not entirely clear, but seem to be connected to, amongst other factors, the presence of commu- nities from particular home countries in certain European coun- tries, the geographical location of host countries and their status as transit and/or destination country (Derluyn & Broekaert, 2005; EMN, 2010). European countries have created specific reception modalities and structures for unaccompanied refugee minors, most of which are divided into different phases (EMN, 2010). For the first reception phase, most host countries have created large-scale centers where all newly arrived UM can be received. After a cer- tain period – ranging from a couple of days to several months – the minors are referred to other care and reception facilities, which vary widely throughout the European Union, for example independent living accommodation, large-scale asylum centers for adults, and small-scale centers for unaccompanied minors (EMN, 2010; European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights [FRA], 2010). A number of studies of this UM population have focused on their mental health, generally showing that UM are at high risk of developing mental health problems (Bronstein, Montgomery & Dobrowolski, 2012; Derluyn, Broekaert & Schuyten, 2008; Derluyn, Mels & Broekaert, 2009; Fazel, Reed, Panter-Brick & Stein, 2012; Huemer, Karnik, Voelkl-Kernstock et al., 2009; Lustig, Kia-Keating, Knight et al., 2004). Different risk factors were found to contribute to their mental health problems: a high level of past traumatic experiences, age (no consistent results), being female, and post-migration factors connected to their current living situation, such as daily stressors and uncer- tainty (Huemer et al., 2009). Most studies examining the men- tal health of UM are cross-sectional, and usually include in their participant groups UM that have already stayed in the host country for some time (e.g., Bean, Derluyn, Eurelings- Bontekoe, Broekaert & Spinhoven, 2007a; Bean, Eurelings- Bontekoe & Spinhoven, 2007c; Derluyn et al., 2009; Hodes, Jagdev, Chandra & Cunniff, 2008). Moreover, the time that these study populations have resided in the host countries – if specified – differs widely in and between the studies. Sourander (1998), amongst others, has pointed to the need to further investigate the health of UM, in particular their mental health, immediately after arrival in the host country. Overall, knowl- edge of refugees’ mental health at arrival in the host country is still limited: some studies found a certain “honeymoon period,” characterized by an elevated mental health state, which then usually worsened in the next phase of their stay in the host country (e.g., Sachs, Rosenfeld, Lhewa, Rasmussen & Keller, 2008), while others contradicted these results (Berry, 1997; Tousignant, 1992; Ward, Okura, Kennedy & Kojima, 1998). In any case, it remains unclear whether the findings also apply to © 2014 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2014, 55, 33–37 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12094