Pathways from war trauma to posttraumatic stress symptoms among Tamil asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants

Abstract

Path analysis was used to examine the antecedents of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in Tamil asylum-seekers, refugees, and immigrants in Australia. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and a postmigration living difficulties questionnaire were completed by 62 asylum-seekers, 30 refugees, and 104 immigrants who responded to a mail-out. Demographic characteristics, residency status, and measures of trauma and postmigration stress were fitted to a structural model in PTS symptoms. Premigration trauma exposure accounted for 20% of the variance of PTS symptoms. Postmigration stress contributed 14% of the variance. Although limited by sampling constraints and retrospective measurement, the study supports the notion that both traumatic and posttraumatic events contribute to the expression of PTS symptoms.

Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families held for a protracted period in a remote detention centre in Australia

“…A checklist of common experiences in detention was developed from reports provided by current and past detainees who had been inter viewed previously by members of the research team. The checklist was based on the format of the previously designed post-mig ration living difficulties checklist 27 and covered 60 k ey experiences (see Table 1 for a list of the items). If the experiences were endorsed, respondents rated them on a four-point scale, ranging from 'no problem at all' to 'a very serious problem'.…”

“Thinking Too Much”: Psychological distress, sources of stress and coping strategies of resettled Afghan and Kurdish refugees

“…Reported prevalence rates of mental health conditions helped raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem, (De Jong, Komproe, & Van Ommeren, 2003;Gerritsen et al, 2006;Steel et al, 2009). Although significant morbidity is associated with pre-migration trauma and torture experiences , post-migration influences including detention have also been shown to contribute to posttraumatic stress symptoms (Steel, Silove, Bird, McGorry, & Mohan, 1999). More recently, much of the research focus has shifted to the post-migration period, exploring links between the early settlement phase and psychological wellbeing.…”

Children of War: Quebec’s Social Policy Response to Children and Their Families

“…Feelings of isolation, marginalization and discrimination (Burnett & Peel, 2001;Kirmayer et al, 2011) are also commonly noted experiences lived by migrants and affecting mental health and their ability to adapt to their host country. Interestingly, among individuals having experienced war and social violence, these post-migration stressors identified above are some of the strongest predictors of mental health including depression, anxiety and PTSD (Betancourt, Agnew-Blais, Gilman, Williams, Ellis, 2010;Ellis, MacDonald, Lincoln, & Cabral, 2008;Gorst-Unsworth & Goldenberg, 1998;Miller et al, 2002;Steel et al, 1999).…”