Effects of trauma and the refugee experience on psychological assessment processes and interpretation

Abstract

All psychological assessments occur in a cultural context, whoever the participants. When the participant being assessed is someone of refugee background, several contextual domains, both current and historical, require close attention. Those domains are the effects of torture, violence and traumatic loss; pre‐arrival hardships such as poor nutrition, inadequate shelter, lack of access to health services and disruptions to schooling; settlement stresses involving unfamiliarity with Australian systems and discrimination; and family functioning and fractures to family nurturance, maintained by ongoing separation from and dangers to significant others left behind. Given that the purpose of psychological assessment is to formulate appropriate interventions for promoting mental health, learning and wellbeing for individuals presenting with special needs, professional expertise demands a comprehensive analysis of the causes of identified problems.

Psychosocial Indicators of Wellbeing for Resettled Refugee Children and Youth: Conceptual and Developmental Directions

“…The Child and Adolescent Complex Trauma Task Force have set out a comprehensive range of interventions for complex childhood trauma that are relevant to refugee young people and which include phase based interventions and complex trauma programs that promote safety, self-regulatory capacities, interpersonal functioning, meaning making and resilience. Family interventions need to promote the caregivers' ability to tolerate the child's difficulties and at the same time manage their own distress related to their own experiences of torture and trauma (NCTSN 2003;Kaplan 2009). At the ecological level, Lustig et al (2004) note that "an important treatment goal is to reduce risk factors that may contribute to poor outcomes, often requiring interventions at multiple levels of the social ecology" (pg 31).…”

“…They are important to include in any set of outcome indicators because the degree of disruption to schooling pre-arrival and abrupt changes to schooling in the settlement environment are likely to moderate the anticipated degree of change as a result of interventions. Disruptions to learning are associated with impacts on cognitive and intellectual development (Kaplan 2009). …”

“…Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety disorders in particular have been found to be elevated (De Haene et al 2007;National Child Traumatic Stress Network 2005). A range of other reported mental health consequences include conditions such as grief, internalising and externalising problems, conduct disorders, somatic problems, learning disabilities and developmental disorders amongst others (Ehntholt et al 2005;Kaplan 2009;National Child Traumatic Stress Network 2005;Vaage et al 2007). Refugee children with extensive exposure to trauma and unaccompanied minors have been shown to be at greater risk than other refugee children of mental health problems (Huemer et al 2009;Thomas and Lau 2002).…”

Sudanese Refugees in Australia: The Impact of Acculturation Stress

“…Adolescents in particular are more susceptible to experiencing acculturation problems (Poppitt & Frey, 2007;Williams & Berry, 1991). Additionally, parents have found it difficult to deal with children who belong to two cultures (Kaplan, 2009). Some recent studies and media reports have highlighted the possibility that refugees from Sudanese community who have settled in Australia might be experiencing acculturative stress (Dei Wal, 2004;Khawaja et al, 2008;Roberts, 2007;Poppitt & Frey, 2007;Schweitzer et al, 2006).…”

Integrating Human Rights and Trauma Frameworks in Social Work with People from Refugee Backgrounds

“…The tests do not take account of the many other factors that contribute to a student's poor performance. For instance, many students from refugee backgrounds have had no previous schooling, and have been through war and often extreme cultural transitions (Fraine & McDade, 2009;Kaplan, 2009). Nialli is likely to conclude that she is stupid or worthless and this can undermine her motivation to learn.…”