Vers une équité en santé mentale pour les enfants de migrants: propositions transculturelles

International audienceThe issue of health equity and the effects of social and cultural disparities on mental health have been raised primarily in the United States and other English-speaking countries. This review of the international literature asks these questions about child and adolescent mental health in France and other countries throughout the world. Migrant children (first and second generation) are particularly vulnerable, with poorer mental health and more frequent psychological disorders than native children with parents born in France (and so on throughout world). They experience real disparities in mental health, linked first to the effects of their parents’ or their own life paths on their health, but also to more difficult access to the child psychiatric care system due to language problems, representations of their needs, and the discriminations and racism that aggravate their psychological distress. These discriminations are not limited to the health field but are found throughout society and health field. After analyzing the effects of migration and discrimination on children's mental health, we draw on examples of programs throughout the world and transcultural research in France for proposals to increase protective factors for these children and adolescents and their families