World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day 2025

On 23 April 2025, we acknowledge the fourth World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day. With so many children around the world currently being impacted by war, violence, weather-related disasters and more, this year’s theme of ‘Bridging worlds: Mental health support for displaced children and families’ is highly relevant and timely. It highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the mental health challenges encountered by displaced children and families as a result of crises, while promoting inclusion and fostering understanding between displaced individuals and host communities.

Children are overrepresented in displaced populations, with persons under the age of 18 years representing 40% of refugees and asylum seekers, despite making up only a third of the world’s overall population.¹ Children of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds are likely to have been exposed to significant adversity during crucial phases of their development. Both pre- and post-migration experiences can have significant effects on their mental health and wellbeing. These experiences can make children vulnerable to a range of mental health difficulties.^{2, 3}

In working with refugee and asylum seeker children, youth and their families, trauma-informed care has been identified as best practice,⁴ and culturally appropriate interventions are vital. Effective treatment and support can greatly improve the mental health of refugee and asylum seeker infants, children, adolescents and their families, helping them to resettle and begin their new lives following the trauma of war, and displacement from country and culture.

References

1. Australian Red Cross. (n.d.). Refugee and asylum seeker facts (Web page). Accessed 14 April 2025.

2. Mares, S. (2016). Fifteen years of detaining children who seek asylum in Australia–evidence and consequences. Australasian Psychiatry, 24(1), 11–14. DOI: 10.1177/1039856215620029.

3. Ziaian, T., de Anstiss, H., Antoniou, G., Baghurst, P., & Sawyer, M. (2013). Emotional and behavioural problems among refugee children and adolescents living in South Australia. Australian Psychologist, 48(2), 139–148. DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-9544.2011.00050.x.

4. Miller, K. K., Brown, C. R., Shramko, M., & Svetaz, M. V. (2019). Applying trauma-informed practices to the care of refugee and immigrant youth: 10 clinical pearls. Children, 6(8), 94. DOI: 10.3390/children6080094.