Despite promising theory, empirical study of the putative protective properties of self-compassion (SC) with respect to resilience to and recovery from traumatic stress is limited. The present study tested the theorized protective role(s) of SC with respect to trauma-related psychopathology over time among an at-risk sample of adolescents (N = 64, 26 % females, M(SD) age  = 17.5(1.07) years-old, range age  = 15-19; grades 9-12) directly exposed to a potentially traumatic stressful event - the Mount Carmel Forest Fire Disaster. The longitudinal design involved three assessment time-points - within 30-days of the potentially traumatic event (T1) and then at 3- (T2) and 6-months (T3) follow-up intervals. Consistent with prediction, multi-level modeling of mediation documented the prospective protective function(s) of SC, above and beyond dispositional mindfulness, with respect to posttraumatic stress and panic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicidality symptoms, but not well-being. The findings are discussed, theoretically, with respect to SC as a malleable protective factor for trauma-related psychopathology outcomes; and, clinically, with respect to SC as a target for future trauma-related selective-prevention and -early intervention research.

Refugees and asylum seekers often suffer from trauma- and stress-related mental health problems. We thus developed mindfulness-based trauma recovery for refugees (MBTR-R)—a 9-week, mindfulness-based, trauma-sensitive, and socioculturally adapted group intervention for refugees and asylum seekers. We conducted a randomized waitlist-control study to test its efficacy and safety among a community sample of 158 Eritrean asylum seekers (46.2% female) with severe trauma history and chronic postmigration stress. Relative to the waitlist-control group, MBTR-R participants demonstrated significantly reduced rates and symptom severity of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and multimorbidity at postintervention and 5-week follow-up. Therapeutic effects were not dependent on key demographics, trauma history severity, or postmigration living difficulties. Finally, there was no evidence of adverse effects or lasting clinically significant deterioration in monitored outcomes. The brief intervention format, group-based delivery, and limited attrition indicate that MBTR-R may be a feasible, acceptable, readily implemented, and scalable mental health intervention for refugees and asylum seekers.

Survivors of violent conflict and atrocities, forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) are at risk for trauma-related mental health problems. Experimental clinical research key to the development of interventions tailored to FDPs is limited. We examined relations among attentional bias (AB) to trauma cues, posttraumatic stress symptom (PTS) severity, and behavioral avoidance of exposure to trauma-related stimuli. A total of 110 Sudanese male asylum seekers (age M = 32.7, SD = 6.5) were recruited from the community in Israel. AB temporal dynamics significantly predicted levels of PTS as well as behavioral avoidance of exposure to trauma stimuli specifically. No effects were observed when AB was quantified traditionally as an aggregated mean representing a static trait. Findings demonstrate the potential role of AB dynamics in PTS among FDPs, help disambiguate extant mixed findings between AB and PTS, and suggest that cognitive bias modification targeting AB dynamics may be a promising new direction for FDP mental health research.

Refugees and asylum seekers are among the 65.3 million people currently forcibly displaced due to civil war, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and hunger (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2016). It is tragic that forced migration in such conditions often leads to further traumatic and chronic stress due to human trafficking and related forms of sexual or labor exploitation (Slobodin & de Jong, 2015; Steel et al., 2004). Consequently, forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) suffer at high rates of traumaand stress-related mental health problems. Yet, only a small proportion receives specialized and evidence-based mental health interventions (Carlsson, Sonne, & Silove, 2014; Collins et al., 2011). This global public mental health crisis is not only driven by a lack of resources and the complexity of providing treatment to FDPs worldwide, but made worse by a lack of essential experimental clinical research. Indeed, strong empirical understanding of risk processes and related mental health intervention targets is critical for the development of targeted, efficient, easily implemented, and effective interventions tailored to FDPs (Collins et al., 2011; Nickerson, Bryant, Silove, & Steel, 2011; Yuval, Zvielli, & Bernstein, 2016). Models of risk and maintenance factors of psychopathology and related mental health interventions for FDPs often rely largely or solely on research in WEIRD (Westerneducated industrialized rich democratic) populations

There is an important, long-standing debate regarding the universality vs. specificity of trauma-related mental health symptoms in socio-culturally and linguistically diverse population groups, such as refugees and asylum seekers. Network theory, an emerging development in the field of psychological science, provides a novel data analytic methodology to evaluate and empirically examine long-standing questions about the structure and function of posttraumatic stress symptoms. We sought to empirically model the functional network of posttraumatic stress symptoms among East African refugees who survived multiple potentially traumatic events. A sample of 148 Sudanese and Eritrean male asylum seekers ( M( SD)age = 32.60(7.13) were recruited from the community in Israel. The nature and function(s) of posttraumatic symptoms (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire) were modeled using regularized partial correlation models to derive a network of symptoms. Spinglass and exploratory graph analysis walktrap algorithms were then used to identify functional “circuits of symptoms” or clusters of nodes within the network. Analyses revealed a functional symptom circuitry that shares features with the predominant western model of posttraumatic stress disorder; as well as unique functional clusters of symptoms inconsistent with nosology and symptomatology observed in studies of Western populations. Findings may have important implications for theory, classification, assessment, candidate mechanisms that may drive and maintain posttraumatic stress, and in turn may inform prevention or treatment for socio-culturally diverse forcibly displaced population groups.