The impact of daily stressors on unaccompanied young refugees’ mental health: A longitudinal study.

Behrendt, Malte; Pfeiffer, Elisa; Devlieger, Ines; Adeyinka, Sarah; Rota, Marina; Uzureau, Océane; Lietaert, Ine; Derluyn, Ilse

doi:10.1037/ort0000644

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The study focused on the influence of post-migration factors which represent an additional risk for UYRs’ wellbeing after controlling for the number of traumatic events. Compared to prior studies using the DSSYR questionnaire ( Vervliet et al, 2014 ; Behrendt et al, 2022 ), the young participants reported a relatively high number of daily stressors (especially worries about the family, financial problems, uncertainty regarding their future, and boredom). Consistent with prior findings, the cumulation of daily stressors seems to potentiate mental distress in young refugees ( Seglem et al, 2011 ; Vervliet et al, 2014 ; Keles et al, 2018b ; Jensen et al, 2019 ; Dangmann et al, 2021 ; Behrendt et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…In prior studies, more contact with family members was found to be associated with better mental health outcomes in UYRs ( Hollins et al, 2007 ; Oppedal and Idsoe, 2015 ; Sierau et al, 2019 ; Höhne et al, 2021 ; Behrendt et al, 2022 ). However, in another study with UYRs, no effect of family support was found ( Sierau et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Mental health problems in unaccompanied young refugees and the impact of post-flight factors on PTSS, depression and anxiety–A secondary analysis of the Better Care study

Hornfeck,

Eglinsky,

Garbade

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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BackgroundUnaccompanied young refugees (UYRs) show elevated levels of mental distress such as post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, and anxiety. The individual post-arrival situation in the host country plays an important role in increasing or reducing mental health risks for these vulnerable children and youth. The study aims at examining the impact of pre- and post-migration factors on the mental health of UYRs.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of N = 131 young refugees (81.7% male, M = 16.9 years old) was conducted in 22 children and youth welfare service (CYWS) facilities in Germany. The participants provided information about pre- and post-flight experiences. Standardized measures were used to assess post-traumatic stress symptoms (CATS-2), symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7). Daily stressors were assessed with the Daily Stressors Scale for Young Refugees (DSSYR), sociocultural adaptation with the Brief Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (BSAS), satisfaction with social support with the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6-G).ResultsOur results demonstrated clinical levels of PTSS in 42.0% of the participants, depression in 29.0%, and anxiety in 21.4%. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that a higher number of traumatic events and social daily stressors predicted higher levels in all three domains of mental health problems. PTSS and anxiety were also predicted by the distress related to the residence status, depressive symptoms were additionally predicted by sociocultural adaptation, less family contact and length of stay. The satisfaction with social support was not a significant predictor in the regression models.ConclusionUnaccompanied young refugees in CYWS facilities are a highly vulnerable population. As traumatic events, daily stressors and level of contact to family directly impacted UYRs mental health, interventions should be trauma-focused, but also contain modules on how to cope with daily stressors. On the policy and practical level, stakeholders in host countries are called for establishing measures to reduce post-migration stressors and enhance support for UYRs on all levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Mental health problems in unaccompanied young refugees and the impact of post-flight factors on PTSS, depression and anxiety–A secondary analysis of the Better Care study

Hornfeck,

Eglinsky,

Garbade

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

Self Cite

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“…This can sometimes exceed the effects of their past trauma exposure prior to and during their forced migration. Research has indicated that daily stressors can contribute to equal or even higher levels of depression, anxiety, and distress than the adversities that refugees experienced during their displacement (Behrendt et al, 2023;Hornfeck et al, 2023;Miller & Rasmussen, 2010). While the daily stressors that refugees face spans multiple domains, for example, acculturative stress, limited housing, threat of deportation, and restricted social capital, many interventions fail to adequately address them (Behrendt et al, 2023).…”

Section: Recommendations For Cultural Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research has indicated that daily stressors can contribute to equal or even higher levels of depression, anxiety, and distress than the adversities that refugees experienced during their displacement (Behrendt et al, 2023;Hornfeck et al, 2023;Miller & Rasmussen, 2010). While the daily stressors that refugees face spans multiple domains, for example, acculturative stress, limited housing, threat of deportation, and restricted social capital, many interventions fail to adequately address them (Behrendt et al, 2023). Interventions that consider and account for a variety of daily stressors may improve mental health outcomes more than those solely focusing on pre-migration and displacement trauma.…”

Section: Recommendations For Cultural Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Interventions for Afghan Refugee Mental Health: A Cultural Adaptation Analysis

Hosseini,

Syed,

Raza

et al. 2023

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) seven-decade mandate, Afghan refugees have faced some of the largest and most protracted experiences with forced displacement. This intergenerational exposure to forced migration has had innumerable consequences for the mental health of this population across different stages of their displacement. Afghan refugees who have resettled into Western nations face a unique set of challenges as they must navigate resettlement into societies that are linguistically, culturally, and spiritually distinct from their own backgrounds. This systematic review explores the (a) effectiveness and (b) cultural adaptation of interventions that have addressed the mental health of Afghan refugees resettled into Western countries since the year 2000. This systematic review will employ the Cultural Treatment Adaptation Framework (CTAF) to organize the extent of cultural adaptations. Through the systematic search of four databases, 1709 studies emerged from our search terms, seven of which met the criteria for this review, for example, study includes more than 2/3 Afghan participants; study includes outcome variables. Studies included programs in Germany, Serbia, Sweden, and Austria. The most common outcomes that interventions addressed included posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ( n = 5), depression ( n = 3), and quality of life ( n = 3). Program modalities ranged between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ( n = 4), emotion regulation ( n = 1), family therapy ( n = 1), and multimodal interventions ( n = 2). Most studies only incorporated peripheral changes to interventions in the service of cultural adaptation, and only one intervention included core changes. This program reported the highest effect sizes in reducing PTSD and depressive symptoms when compared with the rest of the studies. These findings provide a direction for future studies as they consider whether the extent of cultural adaptations can influence the effectiveness of programs for Afghan refugee populations. We provide recommendations for mental health practice with this population, including a special attention to the role of daily stressors, the significance of faith and culture-based meaning making in the service of coping, and the salience of isolation.

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“…Refugee children and adolescents make up a considerable group; their life trajectories are marked by pre-migratory stressors of war, atrocities, deprivation and loss or imprisonment of family members, further compounded by cumulative stressors during their flight, including separation from family networks, exploitation and threatening life conditions [ 2 , 3 ]. Once in the host country, they face multiple stressors such as cultural adaptation, residence insecurity, economic distress, social isolation and discrimination [ 4 ]. Scholarly work on the mental health sequelae of this accumulation of disruptive life events documents refugee minors as an at-risk population, with a significantly increased prevalence rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Collaborative Approach to Support Access and Acceptability of Mental Health Care for Refugee Youth: An Exploratory Case Study with Young Afghan Refugees

Versteele,

Rousseau,

Danckaerts

et al. 2024

IJERPH

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Despite an increased prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, minor refugees resettled in Western host societies are less likely to access mental health care services than their native peers. This study aims to explore how a collaborative approach can be implemented to promote access to specialized mental health care. Collaborative mental health care embeds specialized intervention in primary care settings and emphasizes the inclusion of minority cultural perspectives through an interdisciplinary, intersectoral network. In this study, we analyze how such a collaborative approach can support access to specialized mental health care for refugee youth. The study presents findings from a qualitative multiple-case study (n = 10 refugee patients), conducted in the setting of a psychiatric day program for young refugees that develops an intersectional, collaborative practice in supporting minor refugees’ trajectory from referral to admission. Building on in-depth interviews, participant observation and case documents, within-case analysis and cross-case inductive thematic analysis identify the specific working mechanisms of a collaborative approach. The results indicate how this intersectoral approach addresses the interplay between traumatic suffering and both cultural and structural determinants of mental health. To conclude, a discussion identifies future research directions that may further strengthen the role of collaborative practice in promoting mental health care access for refugee youth.

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The impact of daily stressors on unaccompanied young refugees’ mental health: A longitudinal study.

Cited by 10 publications

References 35 publications

Mental health problems in unaccompanied young refugees and the impact of post-flight factors on PTSS, depression and anxiety–A secondary analysis of the Better Care study

Mental health problems in unaccompanied young refugees and the impact of post-flight factors on PTSS, depression and anxiety–A secondary analysis of the Better Care study

A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Interventions for Afghan Refugee Mental Health: A Cultural Adaptation Analysis

Developing a Collaborative Approach to Support Access and Acceptability of Mental Health Care for Refugee Youth: An Exploratory Case Study with Young Afghan Refugees

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