Inequalities in Intentional Self-Harm for Children of Refugees in Early Adulthood

Lisa Harber-Aschan , Stockholm University
Matthew Wallace, Stockholm University
Ben Wilson, Stockholm University

While refugees tend to have lower risks of suicide and intentional self-harm, it is unclear is to what extent these mental health advantages extend to the children of refugees, or if they experience inequalities compared to the native-born population. This study uses linked data from demographic registers and hospital registers for the population of Sweden, to address the following research questions: 1. How does the risk of intentional self-harm for Swedish-born children of refugees (G2 refugees) compare to a) children of Swedish-born parents, b) Swedish-born children of non-refugee immigrants (G2 non-refugees), and c) refugees who arrived as children (G1.5 refugees)? 2. Do patterns vary by parental country of birth? 3. Are there gender differences observed for any observed inequalities? To examine intentional self-harm in early adulthood, we focus on individuals born 1986-1990, and capture intentional self-harm over the ages 21-30 (N=459,902, of which n=7500 were G2 refugees). For G2 refugees, we examine variation by parental countries of birth, focusing on the three most common origin countries. We use logistic regression models, adjusting for birth cohort, sex and education. We find that children of refugees are not at increased risk of self-harm compared to native-born population, but have a higher risk of self-harm than the G1.5 refugees, and lower risk than G2 non-refugees. The stratified results nevertheless reveal that male children of Iranian refugees have a markedly increased risk of self-harm compared to the Swedish-born children of Swedish born parents, while G2 refugees from Chile and Lebanon have substantially lower risks.

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 Presented in Session 107. Migration and Health