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Trajectories of psychological distress and social integration in newly resettled refugees: findings from the Building a New Life in Australia longitudinal study.
- Source :
-
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology [Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol] 2024 Aug; Vol. 59 (8), pp. 1425-1435. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 01. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Purpose: Refugees are at greater risk of mental illness due to stressors encountered post-resettlement. However, few longitudinal studies have examined the within-person effects of these stressors, especially with respect to social integration. This study aims to examine what factors are associated with psychological distress in a longitudinal sample of refugees resettled in Australia.<br />Methods: This study used data from three Waves of the Building a New Life in Australia study, collected between 2013 and 2018. The eligible sample included 1881 adult respondents, clustered in 1175 households. We conducted multilevel mixed-effects growth modelling incorporating time-variant and time-invariant covariates with psychological distress, using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6).<br />Results: Rates of high psychological distress increased across the 5-year follow-up period. Social integration stressors (e.g. discrimination, lower sense of belonging, loneliness, lower English proficiency) were associated with higher levels of psychological distress over time. Refugees reporting loneliness not only had a greater risk of elevated psychological distress at each time point, but the difference in risk increased over each time point. Refugees who were exposed to traumatic events, older, female and of Middle Eastern background were also more likely to report higher levels of psychological distress over time.<br />Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of identifying refugees who may encounter difficulties with social integration in the early years of resettlement. Newly arrived refugees may benefit from longer-term resettlement programmes that address post-migratory stressors, particularly with regards to loneliness, to reduce the prevalence of elevated psychological distress during the early years of resettlement.<br /> (© 2023. The Author(s).)
- Subjects :
- Humans
Female
Male
Longitudinal Studies
Australia epidemiology
Adult
Middle Aged
Loneliness psychology
Young Adult
Stress, Psychological psychology
Stress, Psychological ethnology
Stress, Psychological epidemiology
Adolescent
Refugees psychology
Refugees statistics & numerical data
Psychological Distress
Social Integration
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1433-9285
- Volume :
- 59
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37393205
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-023-02528-7