TY - JOUR
T1 - Differences in Posttraumatic and Psychosocial Outcomes among Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Internally Displaced Persons
AU - Dolezal, Michael L.
AU - Alsubaie, Mohammed K.
AU - Sheikh, Ifrah
AU - Rosencrans, Peter
AU - Walker, Rosemary S.
AU - Zoellner, Lori A.
AU - Bentley, Jacob A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded in part by the University of Washington Population Health Initiative under grant NCT03761732, and the National Institute of Mental Health under grant R34MH112756-01. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons differ in their experiences, potentially affecting posttraumatic outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as well as psychosocial outcomes such as social connection, discrimination, and well-being. We explored these differences in a sample of N = 112 Muslim displaced persons. Results from planned contrasts indicated that refugees reported more PTSD symptoms (t[46.63] = 3.04, p = 0.004, d = 0.77) and more PTG (t[94] = 2.71, p = 0.008, d = 0.61) than asylum seekers. Higher posttraumatic cognitions predicted less social connections across displacement immigration category. The strength of this relationship was more pronounced for asylum seekers than refugees (b = -0.43, p = 0.014). Refugees may focus more on direct threats from others, resulting in more PTSD symptoms, whereas asylum seekers' uncertainty may pose a greater threat, exacerbating posttraumatic beliefs that drive social disconnection.
AB - Refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons differ in their experiences, potentially affecting posttraumatic outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as well as psychosocial outcomes such as social connection, discrimination, and well-being. We explored these differences in a sample of N = 112 Muslim displaced persons. Results from planned contrasts indicated that refugees reported more PTSD symptoms (t[46.63] = 3.04, p = 0.004, d = 0.77) and more PTG (t[94] = 2.71, p = 0.008, d = 0.61) than asylum seekers. Higher posttraumatic cognitions predicted less social connections across displacement immigration category. The strength of this relationship was more pronounced for asylum seekers than refugees (b = -0.43, p = 0.014). Refugees may focus more on direct threats from others, resulting in more PTSD symptoms, whereas asylum seekers' uncertainty may pose a greater threat, exacerbating posttraumatic beliefs that drive social disconnection.
KW - Refugee
KW - asylum seeker
KW - internally displaced person
KW - posttraumatic cognitions
KW - psychosocial functioning
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U2 - 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001248
DO - 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001248
M3 - Article
C2 - 33093357
AN - SCOPUS:85098602443
SN - 0022-3018
VL - 209
SP - 28
EP - 34
JO - Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
JF - Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
IS - 1
ER -