More than 800 refugees aged between four and 17 with permanent residency status will be interviewed, as well as parents and teachers. The three-year, $370,000 study will be run jointly by the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, and the Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia. It will focus on young people from Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa; refugees from these areas account for 87 per cent of those who have arrived in Australia during the past eight years.

Project leader Dr Tahereh Ziaian, from the University of Adelaide's Department of Paediatrics, says the study will identify the psychosocial status of the refugees and the best responses to their areas of identified need, with a view to improving the delivery of mental health services. ‘Refugees suffer from mental illnesses like the rest of the Australian population but no one is really sure about the prevalence of type of illnesses they are experiencing,' Ziaian says. ‘A large-scale study such as this has never been attempted in Australia before so we believe it could make a significant difference to the lives of thousands of young refugees.'

For further information

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