Investigates the extent of psychiatric disorder, the level of social adjustment, and service utilization among a group of refugees living in London. The study sample consisted of 30 refugee families who sought services at St. Mary’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry during an 18-month period. Two control groups consisted of children of British-born parents or children of nonrefugee immigrant parents. Among the key findings were that the refugee sample was more likely than the British controls to receive a psychosocial diagnosis; British children were more likely than either the immigrant or refugee group to have conduct problems at school; the refugee parents were more likely to have affective or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than personality or substance abuse disorders, compared to the British controls; and refugees were more likely than the controls to be referred to a nonmedical source such as a school or social worker. The clinical implications of these findings included that child and adolescent psychiatric services need to have links to the community agencies that refer many of the young people and also establish good working relationships with adult psychiatric services. Access to good interpreters who can provide continuity of involvement with families is essential.
