The effects of traumatic experiences during transit and pushback on the mental health of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants

Abstract

Background: There are 26 million people recognised as refugees worldwide. Many of them spent a prolonged period of time in transit – time after they leave their country of origin and before they reach the receiving country. Transit brings numerous protection and mental health risks refugees are exposed to. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the stressful and traumatic experiences refugees are exposed to during transit, with a special focus on the experience of pushback – the denial of access to the territory to foreign nationals and forcible return to countries of origin or neighbouring countries without an assessment of their rights to international protection, as well as the impact of these experiences on refugees’ mental health and well-being. Method: 201 refugees currently residing in Serbia completed the Stressful and Traumatic Experiences in Transit questionnaire – short version (SET-SF), questionnaire for assessing stressful and traumatic experiences during pushback (SET-SF PB), Refugee Health Screener (RHS-15), and Well-being index (WHO-5). Results: The results showed that refugees experience a large number of stressful and traumatic events ( M = .27, SD = .85). In addition, half of the participants experience severe symptoms of depression (50.7%), while about a third of the participants experience severe symptoms of anxiety (37.8%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (32.3%). Refugees who experienced pushback showed overall higher levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Traumatic experiences during transit and pushback were positively related to the severity of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In addition, traumatic experiences during pushback showed an incremental contribution in predicting refugees’ mental health difficulties over and above traumatic experiences in transit. Conclusions: This study provides valuable insights into the multiple risks refugees are exposed to and emphasise the need for the provision of adequate protection and support.

“My Life Has Ended”: Exploring the Refugee Protection Process and How it Affects Future Orientation in Refugees

“…While we cannot generalise from these narratives, it does not mean that we should invalidate their experiences. Additionally, research has corroborated the factual aspects of their experiences, that is, the movement trends, challenges while in-transit, as well as the arduous steps they have to undergo just to seek safety, among others (see, for e.g., Wake, 2016;Wake & Cheung, 2016;Newland, 2015;Niemann & Hertel, 2023;Marković et al, 2023).…”

“…The flight experience that refugees go through, while they may differ, may also be harmful to their mental health (Schlaudt et al, 2020; see also Marković et al, 2023). More critically, studies have indicated that there has been no improvement to the measures taken to ensure adequate protection provided to refugees, especially those in-transit, even after risks have been identified (see e.g., Marković et al, 2023).…”

“…The flight experience that refugees go through, while they may differ, may also be harmful to their mental health (Schlaudt et al, 2020; see also Marković et al, 2023). More critically, studies have indicated that there has been no improvement to the measures taken to ensure adequate protection provided to refugees, especially those in-transit, even after risks have been identified (see e.g., Marković et al, 2023). According to Schlaudt et al (2022), " [r]efugees who settle in Western countries exhibit a high rate of mental health issues, which are often related to experiences throughout the pre-displacement, displacement, and post-displacement processes" (p. 1) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression having been identified to be the most prevalent mental health conditions among this vulnerable population (pp.…”

The Role of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Post Migration Life Difficulties for Future Aspirations of Iraqi and Syrian Asylum Seekers

“…Consequently, they are often unprepared. Acute asylum seekers usually experience a higher level of traumatic stress because they stayed too long in the conflict zone, and—as a consequence—they also have higher levels of PTSS compared to people who anticipated the negative events and who left earlier (Matsui & Raymer, 2020; Vukčević Marković et al, 2023). Trauma-related experiences during pre-migration and flight explain more variance in rates of PTSD, while post-migration challenges are associated with mood and anxiety disorders (Bogic et al, 2015; Nickerson et al, 2011).…”