Psychological adaptation and posttraumatic stress disorder among Syrian refugees in Germany: a mixed-methods study investigating environmental factors

Abstract

Background: Considering the exposure to potentially traumatic events among the growing refugee population worldwide, there is an urgent need to better understand potential risk and protective factors that may be associated with psychological adaptation in Syrian refugees residing in GermanyObjective: The present study examined trauma-related coping self-efficacy, resilience, and environmental factors as predictors of psychological adaptation and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Method: The present study used a mixed-methods convergent parallel design examining 127 quantitative self-report questionaires and ten qualitative semi-structured interviews..Results: Quantitative findings showed that nearly half the sample (N = 127) met criteria for probable PTSD (n = 59, 46.5%). Logistic regression models found that lower trauma-related coping self-efficacy (CSE) was independently associated with probable PTSD in unadjusted models (OR = 0.92, 95% CI, 0.88, 0.96, p < .001) and adjusted models (OR = 0.87, 95% CI, 0.82, 0.93, p < .001). Specific environmental factors were significantly inversely related with probable PTSD. Qualitative findings indicated five main themes that were associated with psychological adaptation: 1) language, 2) socioeconomic living conditions, 3) family, 4) discrimination, and 5) asylum procedures.Conclusion: This study suggests that higher perceived ability to deal with the consequences of having experienced potentially traumatic events as well as access to certain environmental factors were associated with better perceived psychological adaptation to German society and better mental health.

Prevalence of and risk factors for depression among female Syrian refugees and Jordanians with chronic disease: a pilot study

“…Highly efficacious patients are more likely to perceive obstacles as challenges to be mastered, in turn lowering stress and reducing susceptibility to depression (32). A recent study found an association between a higher perceived ability to handle traumatic events and improved psychological adaptation among Syrian refugees (33). We did not find any statistically significant association between low perceived social support, an established contributor to mental health issues (34), and higher levels of depression.…”

A Systematic Review of Factors Affecting Mental Health and Well-Being of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Germany

“…Most studies included different ethnic groups such as Syrian, Afghan, Iraqi and others, and ethnic groups varied among studies. Four studies focused on Syrian refugees (52,53,61,62), however, in all other studies the majority of ASRs were also Syrian. In all studies reporting gender distribution, the proportion of men was higher (60.3 to 85.1%), with the exception of one study with 60.0% female participants (60).…”

“…Seventeen different instruments were used in these studies. In six studies, questionnaires were completed by participants (self-report) (50,52,53,55,61,62), while the studies by Comtesse and Rosner (54) and Kaltenbach et al (60) used semi-structured clinical interviews, and five studies conducted computer-assisted face-to-face interviews (51,(56)(57)(58)(59). All instruments used in the studies and their validity are presented in Supplementary Table A3.…”

Longitudinal investigation of the relationships between trauma exposure, post-migration stress, sleep disturbance, and mental health in Syrian refugees

“…A longitudinal follow-up study is warranted. This is because while there appears to be a high prevalence of mental health problems in the initial resettlement period among Syrian refugees (El Arnaout et al, 2019), over the longer-term prevalence of mental health symptoms is determined by the degree of trauma exposure and post-migration stress (Bogic, Njoku, & Priebe, 2015;von Haumeder, Ghafoori, & Retailleau, 2019). This study specifically aimed to (1) investigate the levels of post-migration stress, mental health (PTSD, anxiety, depression), and sleep symptoms in Syrian refugees at 12-month follow-up; (2) investigate which Time 1 variables predicted mental health symptoms at 12-month followup (Time 2); and (3) conduct exploratory analyses examining whether our cross-sectional findings (i.e.…”