The Mental Health Effects of Migrant Family Separation

Many major medical organizations have asserted that family separation is a traumatic childhood experience due to critical disruptions in attachment and the child’s environment. In this commentary, we aim to provide physicians with a growing body of recent data that examines the particular effects of separation on migrant families. Of note, there are myriad scenarios by which vulnerable youths who are fleeing torture and persecution may be separated from a primary attachment figure. Causes of premigration separation include diaspora of family members to avoid violence or persecution, as well as the separation that results from family members being kidnapped, trafficked, or murdered. During migration, family members may travel separate routes based on the physical abilities of travelers. This Commentary will examine the mental health impacts of postmigration separation: separation that occurs at the border upon arrival or that is experienced by resettled refugees separated from family members who continue to reside in refugee camps or the country of origin. This Commentary may allow psychiatrists a more nuanced perspective regarding the mental health of migrant families, while also enabling more effective advocacy through emerging data.