Cognitive evaluation in unaccompanied refugee children: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to identify what existing literature has shown about possible cognitive alterations in unaccompanied refugee children. Data sources: The search was performed in the Web of Science, PsycInfo, Scopus, and PubMed databases, including articles published in any year and in any language. The research was submitted to the Prospero protocol (ID: CRD42021257858), and the quality of the included articles was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data synthesis: Memory and attention are the main topics identified, largely because they are related to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, low specificity was observed in the conduction of cognitive assessments, leading to relevant inconsistencies in the collected data. Conclusions: The use of psychological assessment instruments that are either poorly adapted or not adapted at all to the populations studied casts doubt on the validity of the data produced so far.