In a new opinion piece published in The Hill, Professor Deborah Gross and colleagues Ellen Olshansky (Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work) and Sarah Oerther (Public Health Nurse Section of the American Public Health Association) comment on the toxic stress of separating parents and children—a grave concern regarding the new U.S. policy to deter border crossings.
“Many of these families are fleeing trauma and violence in their home countries, only to be faced with the new trauma we have inflicted through forcible separation,” write the authors. “Long term, we know that this toxic level of stress can affect other organ systems, leading to long term adverse health outcome such as mental illness, substance abuse, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.”
Read the full article in The Hill.
http://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/392724-toxic-effects-of-stress-on-children-separated-from-parents