Lisa Harber-Aschan. Photo: Alma Kirlic

The goal is to shed light on three central questions: When during childhood is children's mental health affected by poverty? What factors drive these effects? And how do these effects differ between children of migrants and children of non-migrants?

The research project will also examine the extent to which psychosocial stress and parents' mental health can explain the connection between poverty and children's mental well-being. In addition, the researchers will study how the children's mental health is affected when parents manage to overcome long-term poverty.

To find the answer to these questions, the researchers will analyse long-term data from early in the children's lives, between the ages of 5-25 years. In particular, they will look at differences regarding gender, parents' country of birth and the reasons for migration.

The project "Poverty and mental illness in children of migrants - a longitudinal study of inequalities and key mechanisms" has received SEK 6,887,000 from Forte and will last for four years. 

Lisa Harber-Aschan will lead an interdisciplinary research group on the project, which consists of Stefanie Möllborn, Siddartha Aradhya, Anthony Matthews, Raffaele Grotti and Sol Juárez.