@misc{10481/92479,
year = {2024},
month = {3},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/92479},
abstract = {The increase in migratory flows worldwide has led to the creation of detention centers as a form of control of irregular
migration. Recipient countries are responsible for protecting detainees’ right to mental health, but the literature suggests that
immigration detention centers are environments associated with complex mental health needs among the detainees. This
study aims to approach the mental health of people detained in the immigration detention centers in Spain, a southern border
of Europe. Eighty-seven migrants coming from different Latin American and African countries were interviewed using an
adaptation of the Measure of Quality of Life in Detention (MQLD; Bosworth & Gerlach, 2020) to measure the perceived
detention environment and The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25; Derogatis et al., 1974) to assess mental health.
The results show a high prevalence of detainees with significant levels of anxiety and depression (69%) and attempts at self-harm
within the detention centers (19.5%). A more positive perception of the detention environment—especially concerning
institutional decency and the relationship with officers—is related to a lower degree of negative mental health symptoms.
Finally, people detained for more than 2 weeks assess the detention environment more negatively than those detained for less
time. Scientific contributions and social implications to ensure the mental health of detainees from a human rights-based
approach are discussed.},
organization = {Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Sevilla/CBUA},
organization = {Jesuit Migrant Service of Spain
as part of its CIE2022 monitoring program},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
keywords = {Detention centers},
keywords = {Detention environment},
keywords = {Immigration},
title = {Perceived Detention Environment and Mental Health of Detainees in Immigration Detention Centers in Spain},
doi = {10.1007/s40615-024-01977-3},
author = {Paloma, Virginia and Benítez Baena, Isabel and Agüero Collins, Armando and López Núñez, Carla and Saavedra Macías, Francisco J.},
}