Mental illness ‘twice as common among refugees and migrants in detention’

Two thirds of refugees and migrants in immigration detention have experienced depression, the study authors found

A group of people thought to be migrants arrive in Dover, Kent, in November, after being rescued by the Dover lifeboat (PA)

Mental illness is twice as common among refugees and migrants in detention compared to those who are not detained, a study has found.

New research published by clinical psychology experts found that two thirds of refugees and migrants in detention have depression, more than half suffered from anxiety and almost half of them experienced PTSD.

Researchers reviewed nine different studies on the topic; reporting on a total of 630 participants, 522 of whom were in immigration detention before or at the time of the study.

For adults, the study said prevalence rates for depression were 68 per cent, anxiety rates were at 54 per cent and 42 per cent for PTSD.

It said theoretical comparisons with data from other studies revealed that “prevalence rates and symptom severity were higher in detained, relative to non-detained samples”.

Although trauma experienced on their journey to the UK may have contributed to mental health problems in detention, the study’s authors said this would not explain a rapid deterioration in migrants’ health.

They added that “contextual factors in the hosting country have a significant impact”.

Some 23,075 refugees and migrants were detained in the UK between April 2019 and March 2020, latest figures show. During 2020, however, fewer people were entered into detention because of coronavirus - around 15,000 - compared to 24,000 in 2019.

The authors said that symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD have been associated with the issues such as holding a temporary visa, insecurity about their visa status, having no access to health services and being separated from society.

A spokesperson for the Home Office told The Independent that the welfare of those detained “is of the utmost importance” and said all immigration removal centres have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists campaigned earlier this year for asylum seekers with a mental illness not to be held in immigration detention centres. They said the period of uncertain detention caused people’s mental health to deteriorate and put people at risk of suicide.

Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said at the time: “Asylum seekers must be able to access the mental health support they need but cannot do so when housed in detention centres.

“They need access to mental health services and the full range of treatment options available on the NHS, which can only happen if they’re supported in the community.”

The new study, published in BJPsych Open, found that rates for depression, anxiety and PTSD in refugees and migrants in detention are around twice as high as rates for those not in detention.

The authors carried out a review of literature and looked at nine studies that considered prevalence rates of depression among migrants. Eight of the studies they examined looked at rates of PTSD and six documented anxiety rates. Only two studies directly compared detained migrants with those who had not been detained.

Dr Marc Molendijk and Irina Verhulsdonk, lead authors of the paper from Leiden University in The Netherlands, said: “Immigration detention seems to have an unacceptable negative effect on the mental health of refugees.”

The researchers also concluded however: “Given lack of experimental control, it remains inconclusive whether immigration detention casually elicits or exacerbates anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms.”

Professor Cornelius Katona, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ commented on the research, saying: “This provides further evidence of the harm caused by detention which is exacerbating and triggering mental illness in already very vulnerable and traumatised people.

“Detainees experiencing mental illness should receive the same standard of care as anyone else, but the very fact of detention makes this impossible.”

A Home office spokesperson said: “Those with no right to be in the UK and foreign national offenders should be in no doubt that we will do whatever is necessary to remove them.

“The welfare of those detained in our care is of the utmost importance. All immigration removal centres have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses who provide mental health support to NHS England standards.”

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