An exploratory study of embitterment in traumatized refugees

Abstract

Background Refugees and asylum seekers are frequently exposed to violence, human rights violations and unstable living conditions before, during, and after their displacement. Elevated prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in forcibly displaced persons are well documented. However, less is known about other problems related to common refugee experiences, such as embitterment, moral injury, and diminished self-efficacy, and how they are related to trauma exposure and post-migration living difficulties. Methods A cross-sectional sample of 71 refugees and asylum seekers in treatment were examined regarding exposure to potentially traumatic events, post-migration living difficulties, moral injury appraisals, self-efficacy, and embitterment. Results Elevated levels of embitterment were reported by 68% of participants. The regression analysis revealed that greater moral injury appraisals and low levels of self-efficacy were significantly associated with higher levels of embitterment. Conclusion The results provide first insights into embitterment and associated factors in refugee populations. Furthermore, they highlight the significance of moral transgressions and low levels of self-efficacy emerging from displacement and traumatic experiences for the development of mental health problems in a clinical sample of refugees. The findings have implications for future research, policy development and clinical practice.

Knowledge of legal rights as a factor of refugee and asylum seekers’ health status: a qualitative study

“…Participants received a $60 USD gift card for their time and travel on completion of the interview, as has been done previously in our own studies and in multiple qualitative studies with refugees and asylum seekers in highincome countries. [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Identifying information was removed from each transcript and then saved on a secure server.…”

“…36 37 39 40 All participants were provided a gift card to remove any monetary barriers to participation related to missing work obligations and incurring expenses while travelling to the interview site. [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] This compensation mechanism could have introduced participation bias. Thus, the characteristics of participants may differ from those who chose not to participate (e.g., age, employment).…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Embitterment in a National Representative Sample

“…As injustice, humiliation, breach of trust are frequent events and may occur in any life domain where people interact, embitterment may theoretically occur in all age groups, professions, persons of different social backgrounds, religion, or culture. Stressful events or potential sources of embitterment can be very diverse and occur in any domain of life [2,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Until now, research on embitterment was mainly done in groups exposed to specific conditions, such as people with chronic illness, or in work settings: in patients with mental disorders, about one third reported increased embitterment scores [4], aggressive phantasies in 3.2% [11].…”

Assessing Embitterment in University Population: A Psychometric Study

“…Other studies have explored the role of trauma in the development of embitterment. To get a clearer picture, this construct needs to be studied in cultural context, because culture plays a crucial role in shaping one's personality, emotions and thought patterns (Spaaij et al, 2021).…”