Important aspects of forensic practice are age estimation and discrimination of individuals of unknown age as adults and minors. The developing knee joint was recognized as a potential site for age ...examination in late adolescence. We analyzed a sample of anteroposterior x-rays of the knee joints from 446 living individuals from Umbria, Italy (234 males and 212 females), aged between 12 and 26 years. We evaluated the ossification of the distal femoral (DF), proximal tibial (PT), and proximal fibular (PF) epiphyses. We took into account possible persistence of the epiphyseal scars in the ossified epiphyses by the adopted stages of those previously introduced by Cameriere et al. (2012). We also used measurements from all three epiphyses to calculate the total score of maturation for the knee joint (SKJ). Cohen Kappa coefficients of intrarater agreement for staging the DF, PT, and PF epiphyses were 0.839, 0.894, and 0.907, while interrater agreement was 0.919, 0.791, and 0.907, respectively. The resulting receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of SKJ show better discriminatory power than those for DF, PT, and PF epiphyses in predicting that the participant, either male or female, was an adult or a minor. The areas under the curves for SKJ were 0.991 and 0.968 vs. 0.944, 0.962, 0.974 and 0.891, 0.910, 0.918 for males and females, respectively. The results of the 2 by 2 contingency tables showed that SKJ score of 4 in males and SKJ score of 5 in females were the most suitable cut-off value in discriminating between adults and minors. Principally, the sensitivity test for males was 0.94, with 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) 0.90 to 0.97 and specificity was 0.96 (95 % CI 0.91 to 0.98). The proportion of correctly classified individuals was 0.95 (95 % CI 0.91 to 0.97). For females, the sensitivity test was 0.89 (95 % CI 0.84 to 0.92) and specificity was 0.92 (95 % CI 0.87 to 0.96), the proportion of correctly classified individuals was 0.90 (95 % CI 0.85 to 0.94). These results indicate that the SKJ method may give valuable supporting information in forensic procedures for discriminating individuals of legal adult age of 18 years. Further studies should address the usefulness of the SKJ method in different populations.
One of the greatest dilemmas facing clinicians who provide psychological services to recently immigrated, unaccompanied minors is when to refer children out of the immigration shelter-based treatment ...to which they have begun adjusting and into a new, more structured environment in which they would face yet another transition and period of adjustment. When is it worth the disruption to adaptation and shelter integration? The current paper represents the experience of two clinicians who provide psychological assessment services to recently immigrated, unaccompanied minors from Central America in the United States and examines practical problems and empirical findings related to this decision-making process.
In recent times, particularly during the 21st century, there have been significant increases and changes in international migration and resettlement patterns due to factors such as people’s ability ...to travel, ease of communication and technology, and civil unrest and conflicts. Global populations have increased and integrated across settings, challenging the differentiation between types of migrants, such as refugees (those migrating because of factors such as civil unrest, wars, persecution, or other vulnerability) and economic migrants. This mixture of migration and resettlement patterns will continue for generations due to these diverse, multicultural, and complex communities and we will need more research to provide evidence to inform nations and global responses to any emergences. This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health focused on the migration, resilience, and vulnerability and general migrants’ health accepted original research papers, case reports, reviews, and conference papers. Articles dealing with new approaches to address issues, including migration (opportunities, challenges, and vulnerability), migrants’ health, settlement, and migrant health-care service access and specific migrants’ subgroups were also accepted. Other manuscript types including methodological papers, position papers, policy briefs and reports, and commentaries were sought. We accepted manuscripts from different disciplines, including public health, social and behavioural sciences, anthropology, epidemiology, psychology, and demography. This reprint compiles 30 publications.
Purpose
There is substantial research on the experiences, needs and well-being of unaccompanied refugee adolescents, but less is known about existential aspects of their lives. The purpose of the ...current study is to explore existential meaning-making among unaccompanied refugee children.
Design/methodology/approach
The informants in this study are young unaccompanied refugees (n = 30) living in Norway, and young Norwegians (n = 46). The authors undertook a secondary analysis of in-depth qualitative refugee interview data and a quantitative analysis of questionnaire data from Norwegian informants.
Findings
Both the refugee youths and the Norwegian youths expressed that social relationships and connections to others were most important for meaning. Moreover, both groups emphasized the importance of relatedness and generativity, i. e. commitment to worldly affairs beyond one’s immediate needs. The main differences between the two groups were related to the significance attached to religion and to loneliness.
Research limitations/implications
The comparison between the two groups is only possible to some degree. Secondary analyses have some limitations, as well as strengths.
Practical implications
The findings may be useful for supporting young refugees, as they provide insights into less-studied aspects of their lives.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the focus on and broad interpretation of meaning, of secondary data analyses, and of comparisons between youths that are refugees versus non-refugees.
In 2015, most of the refugees arriving in Germany originated from countries with poor hygienic and sanitary conditions. Stool samples of 1,230 minor refugees unaccompanied by adults were investigated ...for possible parasites. Giardia lamblia was by far the most frequently detected parasite (n=165); all other parasites were considerably less frequent and encountered in the following order: Hymenolepis nana (n=23), Entamoeba histolytica (n=17), Trichuris trichiura (n=8), and Blastocystis hominis (n=1). Ascaris lumbricoides was not detected among any of the screened refugees. Considerable differences in prevalence rates in refugees originating from different countries could be observed.
A Wager for Life Stubberud, Elisabeth; Akin, Deniz; Bang Svendsen, Stine H.
Nordic Journal of Migration Research,
12/2019, Volume:
9, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This article explores the experiences of queer children who have sought asylum alone in Norway, focussing on hope, fear and despair. The children who are denied asylum relate an experience of ...standing at the brink of death, while those who are granted asylum describe how the queer life they have hoped for is postponed by the settlement and integration system, where they live in isolation and in risk of violence and bullying. We analyse these experiences in light of decolonial theory in which the conditions of war and proximity to death are extended into the childrens’ lives under the custodianship of the Norwegian state. Drawing on queer theory, the wager is life as these children have known it. The potential is living beyond the coloniality of Being, in relationships and communities that provide the possibility of a meaningful life.
Keller et al discuss a critical appraisal of procedures, conditions and recent changes of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in Switzerland. The study aims to give an insight in the current numbers ...of UAM and their situation in Switzerland, being shaped by an ambiguous legal framework and important developments within the institutional setting. Compared to other European Countries there is only a very small body of research knowledge on UAM in Switzerland. Therefore, the study has to relate more to non-governmental organization (NGO)-material, statistics and media reports.
The United States is facing the challenge of a growing number of migrating unaccompanied minors. These children have often witnessed and experienced severe traumatic events before and during their ...journey to a foreign country. In addition, they face cultural shock, loss of social network, and language barriers while navigating complicated asylum procedures and the possibility of being returned back to their country of origin. As a result, they present with several emotional and behavioral difficulties, but also profound amounts of resiliency. This case study presents the treatment of a young unaccompanied minor experiencing severe post-traumatic stress disorder. A relational psychodynamic approach, integrated with trauma focused intervention, is illustrated.
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