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An Uncertain Safety pp 187–211Cite as

Refugees in Host Countries: Psychosocial Aspects and Mental Health

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Abstract

In the last few years, the number of refugees worldwide has increased significantly, reaching the highest levels ever recorded. As described in the literature, the mental health of refugees is affected by their pre-migration, migration, and post-migration experiences. It is well documented that the circumstances that refugees go through can impact both their physical and mental health. While the pre-migration and migration factors cannot be altered, host countries can make the greatest impact on the mental health trajectories for refugees by addressing the post-migration psychosocial factors. This chapter discusses how certain social factors and policies can affect the psychological well-being and mental health of refugees and asylum seekers in Canada and other developed countries.

We will focus on the impact of the seven Ds: detention, denial of employment, dispersal, denial of health care, destitution, delayed decisions on applications, and discrimination. While these are often interrelated issues, they each play a role in the integration of refugees and influence their short- and long-term mental health and well-being. Restricting access to employment or health care and forcing refugees to live in certain areas or in impoverished circumstances without any certainty of their acceptance all have negative effects on mental health while reducing the likelihood of integrating and developing strong social bonds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada

    Branka Agic, Kwame McKenzie & Andrew Tuck

  2. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Branka Agic, Lisa Andermann & Kwame McKenzie

  3. Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Lisa Andermann

  4. Wellesley Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kwame McKenzie

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  1. Branka Agic
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  3. Kwame McKenzie
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  4. Andrew Tuck
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Correspondence to Branka Agic .

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  1. World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section, Psychological Aspects of Persecution and Torture, Geneva, Switzerland

    Thomas Wenzel

  2. PsyQ/Parnassia Group, Rosmalen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Boris Drožđek

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Agic, B., Andermann, L., McKenzie, K., Tuck, A. (2019). Refugees in Host Countries: Psychosocial Aspects and Mental Health. In: Wenzel, T., Drožđek, B. (eds) An Uncertain Safety. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72914-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72914-5_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-72914-5

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