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Aims: We examined the patterns of healthcare utilisation for drug use disorders (DUDs) and charges related to narcotics among young refugees in Norway considering the role of sex, country of origin and condition of arrival (accompanied versus unaccompanied minors). Methods: Based on national registers, sex-stratified Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios to assess the risk of being charged with a narcotics offence and the use of healthcare services related to DUDs. The sample consisted of 15,068 young refugees and 573,241 young Norwegians born in Norway to two Norwegian-born parents. All of the young people in the sample were born between 1983 and 1994. The follow-up period was from January 2008 to December 2015. Results: Compared with their Norwegian peers, both male and female refugees showed either a similar or lower risk of receiving healthcare for DUDs. However, male refugees showed an increased risk of being charged with a narcotic offence, except those from Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. Accompanied male refugees were at a higher risk of being charged, while unaccompanied male refugees showed a lower risk. Conclusions: Young male refugees generally had a higher risk of being charged for narcotic offences while showing a similar risk of receiving healthcare for DUDs compared to Norwegian-born young people. However, young men from Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia deviated from this pattern. This may be partially explained by the length of time spent in Norway. The results add support to previous qualitative studies suggesting that punitive drug policies may disproportionately affect men from minority groups. Further research controlling for parental household-level factors is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed at comparing several health outcomes in young adulthood among child refugees who settled in the different immigration and integration policy contexts of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Methods: The study population included refugees born between 1972 and 1997 who immigrated before the age of 18 and settled in the three Nordic countries during 1986–2005. This population was followed up in national registers during 2006–2015 at ages 18–43 years and was compared with native-born majority populations in the same birth cohorts using sex-stratified and age-adjusted regression analyses. Results: Refugee men in Denmark stood out with a consistent pattern of higher risks for mortality, disability/illness pension, psychiatric care and substance misuse relative to native-born majority Danish men, with risk estimates being higher than comparable estimates observed among refugee men in Norway and Sweden. Refugee men in Sweden and Norway also demonstrated increased risks relative to native-born majority population men for inpatient psychiatric care, and in Sweden also for disability/illness pension. With the exception of increased risk for psychotic disorders, outcomes among refugee women were largely similar to or better than those of native-born majority women in all countries. Conclusions: The observed cross-country differences in health indicators among refugees, and the poorer health outcomes of refugee men in Denmark in particular, may be understood in terms of marked differences in Nordic integration policies. However, female refugees in all three countries had better relative health outcomes than refugee men did, suggesting possible sex differentials that warrant further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Joint physical custody, children spending equal time in each parents' respective home after a parental divorce, is particularly common in Nordic compared with other Western countries. Older children have been shown to fare well in this practice but for young children there are few existing studies. The aim of this paper is to study psychological problems in 2- to 9-year-old Nordic children in different family forms., Methods: Total symptom score according to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as well as scores showing externalizing problems were compared among 152 children in joint physical custody, 303 in single care and 3207 in nuclear families through multiple linear regression analyses., Results: Children in single care had more psychological symptoms than those in joint physical custody (B = 1.08; 95% CI 0.48 to 1.67) and those in nuclear families had the least reported symptoms (B = -0.53; 95% CI -0.89 to -0.17). Externalizing problems were also lower in nuclear families (B = -0.28, 95% CI -0.52 to -0.04) compared with joint physical custody after adjusting for covariates., Conclusions: Young children with non-cohabiting parents suffered from more psychological problems than those in intact families. Children in joint physical custody had a lower total problem score than those in single care after adjusting for covariates. Longitudinal studies with information on family factors before the separation are needed to inform policy of young children's post-separation living arrangements.

Unlabelled: The numbers of refugee adolescents that arrive in Europe without their families has increased in recent years, particularly in Sweden. Research has demonstrated that these children have high rates of mental health problems, particularly depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, during the first years after resettlement. Despite this, there are also indications that many of these unaccompanied children are resourceful and arrive with a clear vision of a positive future in the new country. Follow-up studies in the United States and Norway have indicated fairly good social outcomes in the long term., Conclusion: The education and care that unaccompanied minors receive during the first years after resettlement, together with their own drive to create a positive future, are key factors in their mental health and long-term adjustment., (©2013 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)