Examines the emotional and behavioral problems of unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), many of whom also were exposed to tremendous violence before they fled their home countries or during their flight. Information about 46 minors at an asylum center in Finland was gathered by administering the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) as well as examining clinical records, legal documents, and police and other interviews. Findings revealed that about half of the refugee children experienced symptoms such as depression and anxiety that fell in the clinical or borderline range of the CBCL, and younger minors were the most vulnerable and therefore in greater need of psychosocial services. A lack of trained professionals and delays in procedures for asylum seekers can exacerbate the minors’ emotional symptoms. Therefore, services for these children need to be child-centered and culturally sophisticated and address such needs as security, play, work, education, training, interaction with peers and adults, community boundaries, and religion. Moreover, Finland needs to more closely observe The Convention of the Rights of the Child, which requires the government to provide appropriate, humanitarian assistance to refugee children. Further study is necessary to overcome the language and cultural barriers to gathering data on these children. (28 references)
