From left: Priscilla Agyeman, MPH, and Craig Katz, MD
Mount Sinai researchers have published the first large, empirical study examining the mental health of children held at a U.S. immigration detention center in Social Science & Medicine. In episode 14 of Road to Resilience, co-authors Craig Katz, MD, director for advocacy of the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program, and Priscilla Agyeman, MPH, a clinical research coordinator at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, talk about what they found and what it means for all of us.
Ms. Agyeman and two colleagues spent two months speaking with more than 400 mothers about the mental health of their children who were being detained with them. The researchers found higher rates of emotional and behavioral difficulties, as well as PTSD, among the children compared to their peers in the general U.S. population. Children who had been separated from their mothers demonstrated a significantly greater number of emotional symptoms and total difficulties compared to children who had not been separated, suggesting that separation is associated with increased psychological distress.
“The efforts in this study exemplify how psychiatry can be more proactive, community-oriented, and public health oriented,” said Dr. Katz. “We as psychiatrists need to get out there in the world and not wait for the world to come to us. Our findings told us in science what you know in your heart.”
Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families and communities, the podcast explores what’s possible when science meets the human spirit. To listen, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or the Road to Resilience website.