Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers – Trauma experiences and mental health problems

The study has three purposes. The first is to acquire more knowledge about the potentially traumatizing experiences that young, single asylum seekers have had before arriving in Norway. The second purpose is to gain more knowledge about the psychological difficulties they have. And the third is to understand more of their longterm mental health problems and acculturation. Knowledge of this type will be important both for the assessment of the individual child’s treatment needs and for planning and preparation of interventions at the care centres that receive young, single asylum seekers.
The following research issues are to be addressed:

• What are the experiences that young, unaccompanied asylum seekers have had before their arrival in Norway?
• To what extent do they have mental health problems?
• How do their mental health problems develop over time and how do they cope?
• How do they describe their situation before and during the flight to Norway, and how do they percieve their current situation?

Semi-structured interview and survey of PTSD, experiences of trauma and general psychological health at four time points: The first is when they are newly arrived to Norway and the second and third is when they have moved to the municipality. The fourth timepoint will be when they are adults.