Differences in Posttraumatic and Psychosocial Outcomes Among Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Internally Displaced Persons

Abstract

Refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons differ in their experiences, potentially affecting posttraumatic outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as well as psychosocial outcomes such as social connection, discrimination, and well-being. We explored these differences in a sample of N = 112 Muslim displaced persons. Results from planned contrasts indicated that refugees reported more PTSD symptoms (t[46.63] = 3.04, p = 0.004, d = 0.77) and more PTG (t[94] = 2.71, p = 0.008, d = 0.61) than asylum seekers. Higher posttraumatic cognitions predicted less social connections across displacement immigration category. The strength of this relationship was more pronounced for asylum seekers than refugees (b = −0.43, p = 0.014). Refugees may focus more on direct threats from others, resulting in more PTSD symptoms, whereas asylum seekers' uncertainty may pose a greater threat, exacerbating posttraumatic beliefs that drive social disconnection.

A bright side of adversity? A systematic review on posttraumatic growth among refugees

“…That is consistent with results found by Dolezal et al. (2021), according to which PTG is positively correlated to PTSD symptoms.…”

“…Refugees have reported more Posttraumatic Growth than asylum seekers in the study run by Dolezal et al. (2021)—31.24 average against 25.33 respectively. People who had been internally displaced, however, showed no significant differences in PTG when compared to refugees or asylum seekers (29.04 points average).…”

“…Contrary to these studies (Cengiz et al., 2019; Dolezal et al., 2021), a study with refugees in India found that a lower PTSD score was associated with higher PTG score, and so were lower depression and anxiety scores (Kira et al., 2018). PTSD scores were also negatively associated with PTG scores in the multicenter sample (France and Brazil) studied by Brunnet et al.…”

“…Studies reported a wide range of traumatic experiences including being tortured, watching the death of a close person, physical and sexual abuse, forced labour, and imprisonment. One of the studies (Sleijpen et al., 2016) has applied an adapted version of the PTGI due to the population observed—adolescents, and another study has used the PTGI in its short version (Dolezal et al., 2021).…”

“…One of the studies (Sleijpen et al, 2016) has applied an adapted version of the PTGI due to the population observed-adolescents, and another study has used the PTGI in its short version (Dolezal et al, 2021).…”