Läkartidningen
Volume 112, 2015

Hard to accurately determine the age of children seeking asylum [Svårt att säkert fastställa ålder hos asylsökande barn - Medicinska metoder håller inte måttet - psykosocial bedömning bör prövas] (Article)

Hjern A. , Ascher H.
  • a Sahlgrenska Akademin - Göteborg, - Stockholm, Sweden
  • b Sahlgrenska Akademin - Göteborg, - Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Many unaccompanied asylum seeking young people in Europe lack documents proving their age. X rays of the wrist and wisdom teeth are often used by European migration authorities to assess age in this situation. The large inter-individual differences in physical maturation during adolescence create such large margins of error for these methods that their informative value is very limited. The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare should reconsider its previous position on these methods and examine the possibility to include psychosocial methods in these age assessment procedures.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

Age Factors Emigrants and Immigrants dental age estimation Sweden refugee Refugees Child Age Determination by Teeth standards Age Determination by Skeleton bone age determination psychology human Humans migrant Adolescent age
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84973411708&partnerID=40&md5=580745c1a85545e9745fc04d7e48437a
ISSN: 16527518
Original Language: Swedish