Child Domestic Servitude and Haitian Girls' Mental Health

Many Haitian parents in poverty send their children to more-resourced homes to become child domestic servants, known as Restaveks, in the hopes of their child securing a better quality of life. Contrary to these goals, Restavek youth show worse physical, emotional, and educational outcomes than non-Restavek youth. The aim of this study was to examine associations between various risk and protective resources, experience as a Restavek, and mental health outcomes. Participants were Haitian girls (N = 1,457) aged 13 to 24 involved in the nationally representative survey. Restavek experience was significantly associated with greater socioeconomic deficits, experience of all types of violence, and fewer protective resources. Restavek girls also had a 19% greater likelihood of feeling worthless and a 53% greater chance of endorsing ever having suicidal thoughts. Findings suggest an elevated mental health disadvantage among Restavek girls compared to non-Restavek Haitian girls with other adverse childhood experiences.