Mental health and care seeking patterns of Middle Eastern and North African immigrant children in the United States.

Abstract

To determine the prevalence of childhood mental and emotional health concerns and care seeking patterns among foreign-born MENA children compared to US- and foreign-born White children before and after adjusting for covariates. Data from the 2000-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were analyzed. Poor toddler mental health in the past two months (2-3 years) and childhood emotional difficulties (4-17 years) in the past six months were measured. Parents also reported whether (yes/no) their child saw a doctor for behavioral or emotional concerns in the past 12 months. Parents of foreign-born MENA young children (ages 2-3 years) were less likely to report mental health concerns (44.8%) compared to US-born White counterparts (67.3%; p <.05). Parents of foreign-born MENA children were less likely to report emotional difficulties compared to US- and foreign-born White children (21.9% and 19.3%, respectively; p's < 0.05). Foreign-born MENA children with mental or emotional health concerns had lower odds of seeing a doctor in the last 12 months for emotional/behavioral problems (OR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.24-0.86) or mental health concerns (OR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.27-0.83) compared to their US-born White counterparts after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Parents of foreign-born MENA children reported fewer mental and emotional health concerns compared to US-born Whites. Those with mental and emotional health concerns were less likely to seek mental health care compared to their US-born White counterparts. Further research is needed to confirm and expand on these findings once a unique racial/ethnic identifier for MENA children is made available for measuring national mental health statistics.