Resource loss, resource gain,PTSD, and dissociation among Ethiopian immigrants in Israel

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the loss and gain of resources, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation among Jewish Ethiopian immigrants in Israel following exposure to stressful events occurring pre-, peri-, and post-migration. Resources are defined as objects (e.g., housing), conditions (e.g., employment), personal (e.g., self-esteem), or energy (e.g., culture). A random sample (N = 478) of three waves of immigrants participated in the research (N1 = 165; N2 = 169; N3 = 144). The data were collected in 2001. Age, loss and gain of resources, traumatic events peri-migration, post-migration difficulties, posttraumatic symptoms, and dissociation were assessed. The relationships between the variables were assessed with multiple hierarchical regressions predicting PTSD and dissociation with gain and loss of resources, over and above age, immigration wave, and trauma. A significant relationship was found between PTSD symptoms and loss of self-esteem resources (r = 0.17 p < 0.001), while dissociation was positively associated with gain of housing resources (r = 0.20, p < 0.001). Both PTSD and dissociation were predicted by younger age. The findings are discussed in light of the conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, ), of resource loss and gain among Ethiopian immigrants.

The Attribution of Mental Health Problems to Jinn: An Explorative Study in a Transcultural Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic

“…Another important factor in the encounter with Muslim patients in Western consulting rooms is that many of them have a personal migration background and, on top of that, some have had first-hand experience with traumatizing events in war zones ( 2 ). However, even in the absence of war-related trauma, studies indicate that migration itself is an important risk factor for psychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and dissociation ( 16 ). This is especially the case when migrants face a substantial cultural gap between their country of origin and that of their destination.…”

Multiple Losses: The Psychological and Economic Well-Being of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

“…Previous research supports the basic principles of COR theory, with resource loss related to negative psychological outcomes among refugees (e.g., Finkelstein, 2016), survivors of child abuse (Lamoureux, Palmieri, Jackson, & Hobfoll, 2012), and survivors of sexual violence (Walter & Hobfoll, 2009). A similar relationship may hold for survivors of intimate partner violence: Resource access and resource constraints mediated the relationships between abuse (physical and nonphysical) and health outcomes (physical and psychological; Beeble, Bybee, & Sullivan, 2010; Ford-Gilboe et al, 2009).…”

Winter birth, urbanicity and immigrant status predict psychometric schizotypy dimensions in adolescents

“…Here, we showed for the first time that urbanicity is important for the expression of positive schizotypy in adolescent women. The prediction of unusual perceptual experiences by immigrant status in adolescent men is interesting and could be mediated by childhood trauma and dissociation [34], both of which are highly prevalent among immigrants [35, 36]], especially adolescents [37, 38]], in various host societies and migrant populations. This relationship was limited to adolescent men only but this finding requires replication before we can conclude that it is gender specific.…”