Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Brief Detention of Adult Asylum Seekers in Canada

Cleveland, Janet; Rousseau, Cécile

doi:10.1177/070674371305800706

Cited by 48 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In addition, our study has shown that general stressful experiences, experiences with deportation and stressors from detention are related to PTSD symptomatology, supporting results of previous studies that indicated the relation between detention and mental health difficulties among asylum seekers (Cleveland & Rousseau, 2013;Steel et al, 2006). Negative self-perception of functioning is related to the number of general stressors, while stressful events experienced in contact with the local population are related to depressive symptomatology.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Development and validation of the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q) and its Short Form (SET-SF)

Purić

Marković

2019

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that traumatic experiences from countries of origin (so-called pre-migratory factors), as well as stressors in countries of destination (so-called post-migratory factors), are related to the extent of mental health difficulties and psychological well-being of refugees. However, numerous risks that this population is exposed to during transit have so far been neglected. Objective: The aim of this research was to construct and validate a questionnaire for assessing stressful and traumatic experiences in transit as well as its short form, which would at the same time provide information on one's stressful experiences as well as existing risks that refugees are exposed to on their journey. Method: The study was realized in three phasesitem construction, item revision and instrument validation. In the validation phase, a total of 226 refugees completed the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q), along with Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) Parts I and IV, Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and Beck Depression Inventory -II (BDI-II). Results: Refugees were exposed to an average of 13 stressful events during transit. SET-Q total score was positively correlated with HTQ Part IV Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Self-Perception of Functioning scales (SPFS) while the number of stressful experiences with the local population was positively related to BDI-II depression symptoms. Moreover, SET-Q scores were significant predictors of PTSD and SPFS even after traumatic experiences in the country of origin, assessed by HTQ Part I, were taken into account. A short form of the questionnaire (SET-SF) has also been developed. Conclusions: SET-Q is a valid instrument for measuring the scope of stressful experiences refugees have been exposed to during transit, targeted for this population specifically. Furthermore, SET-SF has the potential to assess the same extent of stressful experiences with a significantly reduced number of items.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Development and validation of the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q) and its Short Form (SET-SF)

Purić

Marković

2019

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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“…Our studies have shown that detention negatively impacts the mental health of both adults (Cleveland & Rousseau, 2013) and children (Kronick et al, 2015;Kronick, Rousseau, & Cleveland, 2016;. These findings are consistent with studies conducted in multiple other countries (Bosworth, 2016).…”

Section: Symbolic Violence Disempowerment and Mental Healthsupporting

confidence: 89%

“Do you want to help or go to war?”: Ethical challenges of critical research in immigration detention in Canada

Kronick

Cleveland

Rousseau

2018

J. Soc. Polit. Psych.

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In a time of mass displacement, countries across the globe are seeking to protect borders through coercive methods of deterrence such as immigration detention. In Canada, migrants-including children-may be detained in penal facilities having neither been charged nor convicted of crimes. In this paper we examine how we dealt with the series of ethical dilemmas that emerged while doing research in immigration detention centres in Canada. Using a critical ethnographic approach, we examine the process of our research in the field, seeking to understand what our emotional responses and those of the staff could tell us about detention itself, but also about what is at stake when researchers are faced with the suffering of participants in these spaces of confinement. The findings suggest that field work in immigration detention centres is an emotionally demanding process and that there were several pivotal moments in which our sense of moral and clinical obligations toward distressed detainees, especially children, were in conflict with our role as researchers. We also grapple with how the disciplinary gaze of the detention centre affects researchers entering the space. Given these tensions, we argue, spaces of critical reflection that can consider and contain the strongly evoked emotions are crucial, both for researchers, and perhaps more challengingly, for detention centre employees and gatekeepers as well.

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“…For the remaining three studies, Robjant, Robbins & Senior, 2009 (referred to as Robjant 2009) analysed asylum seekers in the UK; Ichikawa, Nakahara & Wakai, 2006 (referred to as Ichikawa 2006) analysed asylum seekers in Japan, and Cleveland & Rousseau, 2013 (referred to as Cleveland 2013) analysed asylum seekers in Canada.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For Canada, Cleveland 2013 provided general information about living conditions in Canadian detention centres. The detention centres were prisons, men and women were held in separate wings, there were virtually no activities, and only primary health care was provided.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Detention on the Health of Asylum Seekers: A Systematic Review

Filges

Montgomery

Kastrup

et al. 2015

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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This Campbell systematic review examines the impacts of on health, including mental health (PTSD, anxiety and depression), physical health and social functioning, of confining asylum seekers in detention centres. The review includes nine studies from the UK, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Detention has a negative impact on the mental health of asylum seekers. Levels of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety both before and after release were found to be higher among asylum seekers who were detained compared to those who were not detained. The size of the effects were clinically important. All the studies assessed the mental health of the participants but none reported outcomes related to physical or social functioning. Executive summary/Abstract BACKGROUNDThe last decades of the twentieth century were accompanied by an upsurge in the number of persons fleeing persecution and regional wars. Western countries have applied increasingly stringent measures to discourage those seeking asylum from entering their country. The most controversial of the measures to discourage people from seeking asylum is the decision by some Western countries to confine asylum seekers in detention facilities. In most countries, the detention of asylum seekers is an administrative procedure that is undertaken to verify the identity of individuals, process asylum claims, and/or ensure that a deportation order is carried out.A number of clinicians have expressed concern that detention increases mental health difficulties in asylum seekers, who is already a highly traumatized population, and have called for an end to such practices. This is clearly in conflict with government policies aimed at reducing the numbers of asylum seekers. OBJECTIVESThe main objective of this review is to assess evidence about the effects of detention on the mental and physical health and social functioning of asylum seekers. SEARCH STRATEGYRelevant studies were identified through electronic searches of bibliographic databases, internet search engines and hand searching of core journals. Searches were carried out to November 2013. We searched to identify both published and unpublished literature. The searches were international in scope. Reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews were also searched. SELECTION CRITERIAAll study designs that used a well‐defined control group were eligible for inclusion. Studies that utilized qualitative approaches were not included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSISThe total number of potential relevant studies constituted 11,376 hits. A total of nine studies, consisting of 12 papers, met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised by the review authors. The final selection comprised nine studies from four different countries.Two studies reported on the same sample of asylum seekers in Australia at different time points after release. The nine studies thus analysed eight different asylum populations. Six studies (all analysing asylum seekers in Australia) could not be used in the data synthesis...

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Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Brief Detention of Adult Asylum Seekers in Canada

Cited by 48 publications

References 40 publications

Development and validation of the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q) and its Short Form (SET-SF)

Development and validation of the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q) and its Short Form (SET-SF)

“Do you want to help or go to war?”: Ethical challenges of critical research in immigration detention in Canada

The Impact of Detention on the Health of Asylum Seekers: A Systematic Review

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