Trauma exposure, postmigration stressors, and symptoms of anxiety, depression and post‐traumatic stress in Tamil asylum‐seekers: comparison with refugees and immigrants

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica - Tập 97 Số 3 - Trang 175-181 - 1998
Derrick Silove1, Zachary Steel1, Patrick D. McGorry2, Pooja Basthi Mohan1
1Psychiatry Research and Teaching Unit, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales
2Centre for Young Peoples Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Tóm tắt

Compared to research on displaced persons whose refugee status has been endorsed prior to arriving in Western countries, there is little systematic information available about levels of past trauma, postmigration living difficulties and psychiatric symptoms amongst asylum‐seekers who claim refugee status only after arrival. Asylum‐seekers, authorized refugees and immigrants of Tamil background were recruited by personal contact and mail‐out in Sydney, Australia. A total of 62 subjects, constituting approximately 60% of the estimated pool of Tamil asylum‐seekers, agreed to participate in the study. They returned statistically significantly higher scores than immigrants (n=104) on measures of past trauma, symptoms of anxiety, depression and post‐traumatic stress, and on all dimensions of postmigration difficulties. Asylum‐seekers did not differ from refugees (n=30) on measures of past trauma or psychiatric symptoms, but they scored higher on selective components of postmigration stress relating to difficulties associated with their insecure residency status. Although limited by sampling and diagnostic constraints, the present study suggests that asylum‐seekers may be a high‐risk group in relation to ongoing stress in the postmigration period.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Lipsedge M, 1979, Recent advances in clinical psychiatry., 91

10.3109/00048679309075823

Jupp J, 1994, Migration and mental health. Responsibilities and opportunities. Melbourne, 3

10.1016/0140-6736(91)90051-P

10.1111/j.1464-0597.1992.tb00687.x

Baker R, 1992, Torture and its consequences: current treatment approaches., 83

Cox DR, 1994, The wellbeing of asylum seekers in Australia: a study of policies and practice with identification and discussion of the key issues

Moss I, 1993, State of the Nation: a report on people of non‐English speaking background. Commonwealth of

10.1176/ajp.148.11.1548

10.1097/00005053-199302000-00007

10.1097/00005053-199202000-00008

10.1177/002076409404000102

10.1097/00005053-199402000-00004

10.1176/ajp.145.2.197

Thonneau P, 1990, Health profile of applicants for refugee status (admitted into Quebec between August 1985 and April 1986), Can J Pub Health, 81, 182

Association pour les Victimes de la Repression en Exil.Proposal by the AVRE to establish a centre for the care of victims of torture and cruel inhuman or degrading treatment. Paris: Association pour les Victimes de la Repression en Exil (undated).

Reid J, 1987, Torture and trauma: the health care needs of refugee victims in New South Wales.

10.1016/0379-0738(88)90113-2

10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb01313.x

Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, 1993, Statistics request: Sri Lankan refugee applicants

Butcher JN, 1991, Mental Health Services for Refugees, 111

Garcia‐Peltoniemi RE, 1991, Mental Health Services for Refugees, 24

Kinzie DJ, 1987, The use of self‐rating scales in cross‐cultural psychiatry, Hosp Commun Psychiatry, 38, 190

Williams CL, 1987, Issues surrounding psychological testing of minority patients, Hosp Commun Psychiatry, 38, 184

10.1192/bjp.165.4.524

10.1176/ajp.144.4.497

10.1192/bjp.170.4.351

10.1177/0143034391121010

10.1177/0022022193242002

10.1177/0022022193243005

Cohen J, 1988, Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences

Cook TD, 1979, Quasi‐experimentation: design and analysis issues for field settings

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Tập 97 Số 3

175-181

Thông tin tác giả