Displacement and Mental Health Problems in Children and Adolescents of a Colombian Indigenous Population.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the relationship between forced displacement and variables associated with mental health in an indigenous Colombian pediatric population.

METHODS

A mixed methods design was applied with 69 children aged six to 16 years belonging to 45 families of the Embera Dobidá People: 25 displaced families and 20 non-displaced families. The qualitative phase involved focus groups, while the quantitative phase used a cross-sectional correlational design.

RESULTS

Quantitative findings revealed statistically significant correlations (p < 0.001) between displacement and multiple mental health indicators, particularly emotional and behavioral problems. Food insecurity showed a moderate but meaningful effect, highlighting the impact of nutritional vulnerability on the emotional wellbeing of displaced children and adolescents. In the qualitative phase distinct themes emerged in each community: to, in Caldas, and , in Chocó.

CONCLUSION

For Indigenous communities in Colombia, mental health is closely tied nutritional sufficiency and a meaningful relationship with ancestral territory. These elements are disrupted by forced displacement, contributing to elevated suicidal risk and emotional distress among children and adolescents.