1. Trauma, post-migration living difficulties, and social support as predictors of psychological adjustment in resettled Sudanese refugees.
- Author
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Schweitzer R, Melville F, Steel Z, and Lacherez P
- Subjects
- Adjustment Disorders diagnosis, Adjustment Disorders etiology, Adult, Anxiety diagnosis, Anxiety ethnology, Australia epidemiology, Culture, Demography, Depression diagnosis, Depression ethnology, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Female, Humans, Interview, Psychological, Male, Predictive Value of Tests, Severity of Illness Index, Social Isolation, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic diagnosis, Sudan ethnology, Surveys and Questionnaires, Adaptation, Psychological, Adjustment Disorders ethnology, Emigration and Immigration, Life Change Events, Refugees psychology, Refugees statistics & numerical data, Social Support, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ethnology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic psychology
- Abstract
Objective: This paper explores the impact of pre-migration trauma, post-migration living difficulties and social support on the current mental health of 63 resettled Sudanese refugees., Method: A semistructured interview including questionnaires assessing sociodemographic information, pre-migration trauma, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress, post-migration living difficulties and perceived social support were administered assisted by a bilingual community worker., Results: Resettled refugees from Sudan evidenced a history of trauma. Less than 5% met criteria for posttraumatic stress but 25% reported clinically high levels of psychological distress. The results indicate that social support--particularly perceived social support from the migrant's ethnic community--play a significant role in predicting mental health outcomes. Pre-migration trauma, family status and gender were also associated with mental health outcomes., Conclusions: Refugees in Australia may constitute a particularly vulnerable group in terms of mental health outcomes. Culturally specific sequelae in terms of social isolation and acculturation may be particularly problematic for these migrants.
- Published
- 2006
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