A Systematic Review of the Protective and Risk Factors Influencing the Mental Health of Forced Migrants: Implications for Sustainable Intercultural Mental Health Practice

Hadi Farahani, Natalie Joubert, Janet Carter Anand, Timo Toikko and Mohamad Tavakol
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Hadi Farahani: Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Natalie Joubert: Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Janet Carter Anand: Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Timo Toikko: Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Mohamad Tavakol: Department of Sociology, University of Tehran, Tehran 1411713118, Iran

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-25

Abstract: This systematic review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. The primary aim of this research was to identify risks and protective factors for the mental health of forced migrants. The secondary aim was to suggest an alternative, more comprehensive approach in social work that surpasses usual diagnoses and intrinsically contradicts the medicalization of mental health issues of forced migrants. The search was conducted between January 2015 and January 2021. As a result, 29 studies met inclusion criteria. Medicalizing mental health issues by relying solely on the effectiveness of medicine was a controversial risk factor that negatively affected daily life activities of refugees and reduced their willingness for seeking professional mental health services. Empowering vulnerable minorities by giving them back their power and agency to be able to speak for themselves and raise voices of trauma and recovery was the missing protective factor for a sustainable mental health practice. The benefits of group-based interventions were highlighted in which communities and individuals address mental health issues as well as isolation through building collective identities and support networks. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can add more strength to any kind of mental health interventions. Finally, the benefits of applying an ecological perspective for the study of the mental health of refugees, and its implications for a sustainable intercultural practice, were discussed. Social workers in this model are the representatives of at-risk groups, and thus require more agency and creativity in reflecting client’s concrete needs.

Keywords: mental health; risk factor; protective factor; refugee; asylum-seeker; sustainable intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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