Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 5/2013

01-10-2013 | Original Paper

Effects of Post-migration Factors on PTSD Outcomes Among Immigrant Survivors of Political Violence

Authors: Tracy Chu, Allen S. Keller, Andrew Rasmussen

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 5/2013

Login to get access

Abstract

This study examined the predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a clinical sample of 875 immigrant survivors of political violence resettled in the United States, with a specific aim of comparing the relative predictive power of pre-migration and post-migration experiences. Results from a hierarchical OLS regression indicated that pre-migration experiences such as rape/sexual assault were significantly associated with worse PTSD outcomes, as were post-migration factors such as measures of financial and legal insecurity. Post-migration variables, which included immigration status in the US, explained significantly more variance in PTSD outcomes than premigration variables alone. Discussion focused on the importance of looking at postmigration living conditions when treating trauma in this population.
Literature
1.
Keyes EF. Mental health status in refugees: an integrative review of current research. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2000;21:397–410.PubMedCrossRef
2.
Nicholl C, Thompson A. The psychological treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adult refugees: a review of the current state of psychological therapies. J Ment Health. 2004;13(4):351–62.CrossRef
3.
Porter M, Haslam N. Predisplacement and postdisplacement factors associated with mental health of refugees and internally displaced persons: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2005;294(5):602–12.PubMedCrossRef
4.
de Jong JP, et al. Lifetime events and posttraumatic stress disorder in 4 postconflict settings. JAMA. 2001;286:555–62.PubMedCrossRef
5.
Crescenzi A, et al. Effect of political imprisonment and trauma history on recent Tibetan refugees in India. J Trauma Stress. 2002;15(5):369375.CrossRef
6.
Holtz TH. Refugee trauma versus torture trauma: a retrospective controlled cohort study of Tibetan refugees. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1998;186(1):24–34.PubMedCrossRef
7.
Shrestha NM, et al. Impact of torture on refugees displaced within the developing world: symptomatology among Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. JAMA. 1998;280:443–8.PubMedCrossRef
8.
Tang SS, Fox SH. Traumatic experiences and the mental health of Senegalese refugees. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2001;189(8):507–12.PubMedCrossRef
9.
Eisenman DP, et al. Mental health and health-related quality of life among adult Latino primary care patients living in the United States with previous exposure to political violence. JAMA. 2003;290(5):627–34.PubMedCrossRef
10.
Fox PG, et al. Depression among immigrant Mexican women and Southeast Asian refugee women in the US. Int J Psychiatr Nurs Res. 2001;7(1):778–92.PubMed
11.
Gerritsen AAM, et al. Physical and mental health of Afghan, Iranian and Somali asylum seekers and refugees living in the Netherlands. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2006;41(1):18–26.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Keller A, et al. From persecution to prison: the health consequences of detention for asylum seekers. Boston and New York City: Physicians for Human Rights and the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture; 2003.
13.
Nicholson BL. The influence of pre-emigration and post-emigration stressors on mental health: a study of Southeast Asian refugees. Social Work Res. 1997;21(1):19–31.CrossRef
14.
Robertson CL, et al. Somali and Oromo refugee women: trauma and associated factors. J Adv Nurs. 2006;56(6):577–87.PubMedCrossRef
15.
Keller A, et al. Traumatic experiences and psychological distress in an urban refugee population seeking treatment services. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2006;194(3):188–94.PubMedCrossRef
16.
Summerfield D. A critique of seven assumptions behind psychological trauma programmes in war-affected areas. Soc Sci Med. 1999;48:1449–62.PubMedCrossRef
17.
Knipscheer JW, Kleber RJ. The relative contribution of posttraumatic and acculturative stress to subjective mental health among Bosnian refugees. J Clin Psychol. 2006;62(3):339–53.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Hondius AJK, et al. Health problems among Latin-American and Middle-Eastern refugees in the Netherlands: relations with violence exposure and ongoing sociopsychological strain. J Trauma Stress. 2000;13(4):619–34.PubMedCrossRef
19.
Eisenbruch M. From post-traumatic stress disorder to cultural bereavement: diagnosis of Southeast Asian refugees. Soc Sci Med. 1991;33(6):673–80.PubMedCrossRef
20.
Knipscheer JW, Kleber RJ. Help-seeking behavior of West African migrants. J Community Psychol. 2008;36:915–28.CrossRef
21.
Mollica RF, et al. Disability associated with psychiatric comorbidity and health status in Bosnian refugees living in croatia. JAMA. 1999;282(5):433–9.PubMedCrossRef
22.
Kinzie DJ, Fleck J. Psychotherapy with severely traumatized refugees. Am J Psychother. 1987;41(1):82–95.PubMed
23.
Mollica RF, et al. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: validating a cross-cultural instrument for measuring torture, trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder in Indochinese refugees. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1992;180(2):111–6.PubMedCrossRef
24.
Kira IA, et al. The effects of torture: two community studies. Peace Confl. 2006;12(3):205–28.CrossRef
25.
Jamil H, Nassar-McMillan SC, Lambert RG. Immigration and attendant psychological sequelae: a comparison of three waves of Iraqi immigrants. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2007;77(2):199–205.PubMedCrossRef
26.
Mollica RF, Caridad KR, Massagli MP. Longitudinal study of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and changes in traumatic memories over time in Bosnian refugees. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2007;195(7):572–9.PubMedCrossRef
27.
Amon E. The Asylum wars. The American lawyer. 2006.
28.
Dueck J, Aida M. HURIDOCS standard formats: a tool for documenting human rights violations. Oslo: Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems International (HURIDOCS); 1993.
29.
Hollifield M, et al. Measuring trauma and health status in refugees: a critical review. JAMA. 2002;288(5):611–21.PubMedCrossRef
30.
Hooberman JB, et al. Classifying the torture experiences of refugees living in the United States. J Interpers Violence. 2007;22(1):108–23.PubMedCrossRef
31.
32.
Terheggen MA, Stroebe MS, Kleber RJ. Western conceptualizations and Eastern experience: a cross-cultural study of traumatic stress reactions among Tibetan refugees in India. J Trauma Stress. 2001;14(2):391–403.PubMedCrossRef
33.
34.
Oosterhoff P, Zwanikken P, Ketting E. Sexual torture of men in Croatia and other conflict situations: an open secret. Reprod Health Matters. 2004;12(23):68–78.PubMedCrossRef
35.
Carlsson J, Mortensen E, Kastrup M. Predictors of mental health and quality of life in male tortured refugees. Nord J Psychiatry. 2006;60:51–7.PubMedCrossRef
36.
Gagnon AJ, Tuck J, Barkun L. A systematic review of questionnaires measuring the health of resettling refugee women. Health Care Women Int. 2004;25:111–49.PubMedCrossRef
37.
Ai AL, Peterson C, Ubelhor D. War-related trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among adult Kosovar refugees. J Trauma Stress. 2002;15(2):157–60.PubMedCrossRef
38.
Kivling-Boden G, Sundbom E. The relationship between post-traumatic symptoms and life in exile in a clinical group of refugees from the former Yugoslavia. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2002;105:461–8.PubMedCrossRef
Metadata
Title
Effects of Post-migration Factors on PTSD Outcomes Among Immigrant Survivors of Political Violence
Authors
Tracy Chu
Allen S. Keller
Andrew Rasmussen
Publication date
01-10-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 5/2013
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9696-1

Other articles of this Issue 5/2013

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 5/2013 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Immigrant Paradox in Substance Use

Original Paper

Influence of Living Arrangements on the Management and Control of Hypertension: A Mixed-Methods Study of Korean American Elderly

Original Paper

Cancer Screening at a Federally Qualified Health Center: A Qualitative Study on Organizational Challenges in the Era of the Patient-Centered Medical Home

Original Paper

Age and Glycemic Control Among Low-Income Latinos

Original Paper

“Every disease…man can get can start in this cab”: Focus Groups to Identify South Asian Taxi Drivers’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs About Cardiovascular Disease and Its Risks

Original Paper

Does the Healthy Immigrant Effect Extend to Anxiety Disorders? Evidence from a Nationally Representative Study