AUTHOR=Agudelo-Hernández Felipe , Plata-Casas Laura Inés , Marulanda-López Eduardo 

TITLE=Displacement and Mental Health Problems in Children and Adolescents of a Colombian Indigenous Population

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 70 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607782

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2025.1607782

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=ObjectivesTo explore the relationship between forced displacement and variables associated with mental health in an indigenous Colombian pediatric population.MethodsA mixed methods design was applied with 69 children aged six to 16 years belonging to 45 families of the Embera Dobidá People: 25 displaced families and 20 non-displaced families. The qualitative phase involved focus groups, while the quantitative phase used a cross-sectional correlational design.ResultsQuantitative findings revealed statistically significant correlations (p < 0.001) between displacement and multiple mental health indicators, particularly emotional and behavioral problems. Food insecurity showed a moderate but meaningful effect, highlighting the impact of nutritional vulnerability on the emotional wellbeing of displaced children and adolescents. In the qualitative phase distinct themes emerged in each community: A territory that cannot be returned to, in Caldas, and The angry and dying territory, in Chocó.ConclusionFor Indigenous communities in Colombia, mental health is closely tied nutritional sufficiency and a meaningful relationship with ancestral territory. These elements are disrupted by forced displacement, contributing to elevated suicidal risk and emotional distress among children and adolescents.