A Systematic Review of the Literature on Trauma and Refugees

Authors

  • L. R. Anitha Department of English, Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61841/mfkkaz44

Keywords:

Violence, Sexual Violence,, Life-Threatening Accidents.

Abstract

Refugees and asylum seekers are highly susceptible to the impacts of discrimination, conflict and displacement-related traumatic events. Overall, communities who are taken as slaves report exposure to a large number of potentially traumatic, repeated and prolonged adverse events. Through definition, the persecution of refugees means such incidents are often interpersonal in nature. Potentially traumatic incidents that refugees and asylum seekers often encounter in their home countries include interpersonal violence, sexual violence, life- threatening accidents, witnessing the murder of loved ones, and torture. For many, displacement may entail many months or even years of travel, living in areas affected by war or residing in refugee camps. In this article, the emphasis will be on empirical refugee research, asylum-seeker mental health and Trauma and Refugee analysis. By incorporating these different theories, the author describes an integrated model to assist service providers in identifying the different trauma factors associated with refugees, as well as facilitating the development of effective service delivery mechanisms for that population.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] Acarturk, C., Konuk, E., Cetinkaya, M., Senay, I., Sijbrandij, M., Cuijpers, P., & Aker, T. (2015). EMDR for Syrian refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6(1), 27414.

[2] Adeosun, I. I., Adegbohun, A. A., Adewumi, T. A. & Jeje, O. O. (2013). The pathways to the first contact with mental health services among patients with schizophrenia in Lagos, Nigeria. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, 769161.

[3] Ahmad, A., Sofi, M., Sundelin-Wahlsten, V., & Von Knorring, A. L. (2000). Posttraumatic stress disorder in children after the military operation “Anfal” in Iraqi Kurdistan. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9(4),235-243.

[4] Basoglu, M., Paker, M., Paker, O., Ozmen, E., Marks, I., Incesu, C., . . . Sarimurat, N. (1994). Psychological effects of torture: A comparison of tortured with nontortured political activists in Turkey. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(1), 76-81.

[5] Beiser, M., & Hou, F. (2001). Language acquisition, unemployment and depressive disorder among Southeast Asian refugees: A 10-year study. Social Science & Medicine, 53, 1321-1334.

[6] Betancourt, T. S., Newnham, E. A., Birman, D., Lee, R., Ellis, H., & Layne, C. M. (2017). Comparing trauma exposure, mental health needs and service utilization across clinical samples of refugee, immigrant and non-immigrant children. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30, 209-218.

[7] Cavallera, V, Reggi, M., Abdi, S., Jinnah, Z., Kivelenge, J., Warsame, A.M., Yusuf, A.M., Ventevogel, P. (2016). Culture, context and mental health of Somali refugees: a primer for staff working in mental health and psychosocial support programmes. Geneva, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/52624

[8] Chen, W., Hall, B. J., Ling, L., & Renzaho, A. M. (2017). Pre-migration and post-migration factors associated with mental health in humanitarian migrants in Australia and the moderation effect of post- migration stressors: Findings from the first wave data of the BNLA cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry, 4(3), 218-229.

[9] Chu, T. Q., Keller, A. S., & Rasmussen, A. (2013). Effects of post-migration factors on PTSD outcomes among immigrant survivors of political violence. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 15, 890-897.

[10] Digidiki, V., & Bhabha, J. (2017). Emergency within an Emergency: The Growing Epidemic of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Children in Greece. Boston: FXB Center for Health and Human Rights,

Harvard University

[11] Eisenbruch, M., de Jong, J. T., & van de Put, W. (2004). Bringing order out of chaos: A culturally competent approach to managing the problems of refugees and victims of organized violence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17(2), 123-131.

[12] Ellis, B. H., MacDonald, H. Z., Klunk ‐Gillis, J bral, H. J.., Lincoln, A., Struni (2010). Discrimination and mental health among Somali refugee adolescents: The role of acculturation and gender. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(4), 564-575.

[13] Ellis, B. H., MacDonald, H. Z., Lincoln, A. K., & Cabral, H. J. (2008). Mental health of Somali adolescent refugees: The role of trauma, stress, and perceived discrimination. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(2), 184-193.

[14] Ellis, B. H., Miller, A. B., Baldwin, H., & Abdi, S. (2011). New directions in refugee youthmental health services: Overcoming barriers to engagement. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 4, 69-85.

[15] Fazel, M., Garcia, J., & Stein, A. (2016). The right location? Experiences of refugee adolescents seen by school-based mental health services. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 21(3), 368-380.

[16] Fazel, M., Rees, S., & Silove, D. M. (2017). Refugees and populations exposed to mass conflict. Oxford Textbook.

[17] Hou, W. K., Hall, B. J. & Hobfoll, S. E. (2017). Drive to thrive: A theory of resilience following loss. In (Eds). N. Morina & A. Nickerson, Mental health of refugee and post-conflict populations. Springer: Amsterdam.

[18] Ichikawa, M., Nakahara, S., & Wakai, S. (2006). Effect of post-migration detention on mental health among Afghan asylum seekers in Japan. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40(4), 341- 346.

[19] Jordans, M. J., Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Susanty, D., Vallipuram, A., Ntamatumba, P.,de Jong, J. T. (2010). Development of a multi-layered psychosocial care system for children in areas of political violence.

International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 4(1), 15. doi: 10.1186/1752-4458-4-15

[20] Khamis, V. (2016). Does parent’s psychological distress mediate the relationship between war trauma and psychosocial adjustment in children? Journal of Health Psychology,21(7), 1361-1370.

[21] Laban, C. J., Gernaat, H. B., Komproe, I. H., Schreuders, B. A., & De Jong, J. T. (2004). Impact of a long asylum procedure on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iraqi asylum seekers in The Netherlands. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192(12), 843-851.

[22] Li, S. S., Liddell, B. J., & Nickerson, A. (2016). The relationship between post-migration stress and psychological disorders in refugees and asylum seekers. Current Psychiatry Report, 18(9), 82.

[23] Lorek, A., Ehntholt, K., Nesbitt, A., Wey, E., Githinji, C., Rossor, E., & Wickramasinghe, R.(2009). The mental and physical health difficulties of children held within a British immigration detention center: A pilot study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(9), 573-585.

[24] Miller, K. E., Martell, Z. L., Pazdirek, L., Caruth, M., & Lopez, D. (2005). The role of interpreters in psychotherapy with refugees: An exploratory study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(1), 27-39.

[25] Miller, K. E., & Rasmussen, A. (2017). The mental health of civilians displaced by armed conflict: An ecological model of refugee distress. Epidemioly and Psychiatric Sciences, 26(2), 129-138.

[26] National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2006). Psychological First Aid: Field Operations Guide.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: http://www.nctsn.org/content/psychological-first-aid

[27] Nickerson, A., Bryant, R. A., Silove, D., & Steel, Z. (2011). A critical review of psychological treatments of posttraumatic stress disorder in refugees. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(3), 399-417.

[28] Nickerson, A., Bryant, R. A., Steel, Z., Silove, D., & Brooks, R. (2010). The impact of fear for family on mental health in a resettled Iraqi refugee community. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44(4), 229-235.

[29] Nickerson, A., Liddell, B. J., Maccallum, F., Steel, Z., Silove, D., & Bryant, R. A. (2014). Posttraumatic stress disorder and prolonged grief in refugees exposed to trauma and loss. BMC Psychiatry, 14, 106.

[30] Nickerson, A., Schick, M., Schnyder, U., Bryant, R. A., & Morina, N. (In press). Comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in tortured, treatment seeking refugees Journal of Traumatic Stress.

[31] Nickerson, A., Steel, Z., Bryant, R., Brooks, R., & Silove, D. (2011). Change in visa status amongst Mandaean refugees: Relationship to psychological symptoms and living difficulties. Psychiatry Research, 187(1-2), 267-274.

[32] Otto, M., & Hinton, D. E. (2006). Modifying exposure-based CBT for Cambodian refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 13(4), 261-270.

[33] Schnyder, U., Muller, J., Morina, N., Schick, M., Bryant, R. A., & Nickerson, A. (2015). A comparison of DSM-5 and DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder in traumatized refugees. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(4), 267-274.

[34] Schweitzer, R. D., Brough, M., Vromans, L., & Asic-Kobe, M. (2011). Mental health of newly arrived Burmese refugees in Australia: Contributions of pre-migration and post-migration experience. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 45(4), 299-307.

[35] Steel, Z., Chey, T., Silove, D., Marnane, C., Bryant, R. A., & van Ommeren, M. (2009). Association of torture and other potentially traumatic events with mental health outcomes among populations exposed to mass conflict and displacement: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 302(5), 537-549.

[36] Steel, Z., Liddell, B. J., Bateman Steel, C., & Zwi, A. (2011). Global protection and the health impact of migration interception. PLoS Medicine, 8(6), e1001038.

[37] Steel, Z., Momartin, S., Bateman, C., Hafshejani, A., Silove, D. M., Everson, N., . . . Mares, S. (2004). Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families held for a protracted period in a remote detention centre in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 28(6), 527-536.

[38] Steel, Z., Momartin, S., Silove, D., Coello, M., Aroche, J., & Tay, K. W. (2011). Two year psychosocial and mental helath outcomes for refugees subjected to restrictive or supportive immigration policies. Social Science & Medicine, 72, 1149-1156.

[39] Steel, Z., Silove, D., Brooks, R., Momartin, S., Alzuhairi, B., & Susljik, I. (2006). Impact of immigration detention and temporary protection on the mental health of refugees. British Journal of Psychiatry, 188(1), 58-64.

[40] Tay, A. K., Rees, S., Chen, J., Kareth, M., & Silove, D. (2016). Factorial structure of complicated grief: Associations with loss-related traumatic events and psychosocial impacts of mass conflict amongst West Papuan refugees. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 51(3), 395-406.

[41] Tyrer, R., & Fazel, M. (2014). School and community-based interventions for refugee and asylum seeking children: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE, 9(2), e89359.

[42] UNHCR. (2016). Global trends in forced displacement in 2016. Geneva, Switzerland: UNHCR

[43] UNHCR. (2017). UNHCR projected global resettlement needs 2017. Geneva, Switzerland: UNHCR

[44] UNICEF. (2014). No lost generation: Protecting the futures of children affected by the crisis in Syria, strategic overview. UNICEF

[45] UNICEF. (2016). Danger every step of the way: A harrowing journey to Europe for refugee and migrant children. UNICEF Child Alert: UNICEF

[46] Van Ommeren, M., De Jong, J. T., Sharma, B., Komproe, Wong, E. C., Marshall, G. N., Schell, T. L., Elliott, M. N., Hambarsoomians, K., Chun, C. A., & Berthold, S. M. (2006). Barriers to mental health care utilization for U.S. Cambodian refugees. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(6), 1116-1120.

[47] World Health Organization (2013). Guidelines for the management of conditions specifically related to stress. Geneva: World Health Organization.

[48] World Health Organization and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2015). mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guie (mhGAP-HIG): Clinical management of mental, neurological and substance use conditions in humanitarian emergencies. WHO: Geneva.

[49] World Health Organization, War Trauma Foundation & World Vision International (2011). Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers. WHO: Geneva

Downloads

Published

30.06.2020

How to Cite

Anitha , L. R. (2020). A Systematic Review of the Literature on Trauma and Refugees. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(4), 4002-4012. https://doi.org/10.61841/mfkkaz44