# Psychosocial Wellbeing of Refugee Children after Release from Family Immigration Detention

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $234,750

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Psychosocial Wellbeing of Refugee Children after Release from Family Immigration Detention
In the spring and summer of 2014, the US experienced the largest single surge of mothers with minor children
migrating through Mexico to the US from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. About 68,000 mothers and
children were apprehended at the US border. Despite increased immigration enforcement, families kept
coming: 39,838 in FY15, 77,674 in FY16, and 75,622 in FY17. The US created family detention centers, two of
them in South Texas, to hold these families and tens of thousands of mothers and children have been held for
periods ranging from a few weeks to years. There is virtually no data on what toll immigration detention is
taking on the children and we have little empirical knowledge of how they are faring after release. While
research on refugee children from Africa and the Middle East held in detention in Australia, Britain, and
Canada shows negative physical and psychological effects, we do not know what the post-detention
developmental, physical, and socioemotional status is for Central American children who were held in US
facilities and who now reside temporarily or permanently in the US. As a first response to this gap in our
knowledge, we seek to develop methods for studying the psychosocial wellbeing of children who were held
with their mothers in detention centers for weeks and months during critical childhood development. Our
overarching objective is to understand the conditions of these children after release and inform research and
treatment efforts. This project has two exploratory/developmental aims: To (1) devise recruitment procedures,
test instruments, and develop qualitative interviews for studying Central American children previously held in
US immigration detention and now residing in local communities; and (2) examine children’s detention
experiences and post-release psychosocial wellbeing. We will interview 84 children in middle childhood (ages
6 to 12) who were held previously in immigration detention with their mothers for a period of at least two
weeks. Mothers and children will provide post-detention information on family functioning; children’s physical,
psychological, and behavioral health; educational functioning; and social integration.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9851416
- **Project number:** 5R21HD097486-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** LUIS H ZAYAS
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $234,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-17 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9851416

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9851416, Psychosocial Wellbeing of Refugee Children after Release from Family Immigration Detention (5R21HD097486-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9851416. Licensed CC0.

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