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 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 4/2016

01-08-2016 | Original Paper

Beyond Trauma: Post-resettlement Factors and Mental Health Outcomes Among Latino and Asian Refugees in the United States

Author: Isok Kim

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 4/2016

Login to get access

Abstract

War-related traumas impact refugees’ mental health. Recent literature suggests that structural and sociocultural factors related to the resettlement also become critical in shaping refugees’ mental health. So far, there is limited empirical evidence to support this claim among resettled refugees. Resettlement contextual factors that influence mental health outcomes were examined using Latino and Asian refugees (n = 656) from a nationally representative survey. Linear and logistic regressions predicted factors associated with the study’s outcomes (self-reported mental health, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders). Post-resettlement traumas were significantly associated with mental health outcomes, but pre-resettlement traumas were not. Unemployment, everyday discrimination, and limited English were significantly associated with mental health outcomes among both Latino and Asian refugees. The outcomes indicate that resettlement contextual factors have a significant association with refugees’ mental health. Therefore, future studies with refugees must pay closer attention to structural and sociocultural factors after resettlement.
Literature
1.
Fazel M, Wheeler J, Danesh J. Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review. Lancet. 2005;365(9467):1309–14.CrossRefPubMed
2.
3.
Lindert J, et al. Depression and anxiety in labor migrants and refugees—a systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Sci Med. 2009;69(2):246–57.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Steel Z, et al. 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. JAMA. 2009;302(5):537–49.CrossRefPubMed
5.
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.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Cardozo BL, et al. Karenni refugees living in Thai-Burmese border camps: traumatic experiences, mental health outcomes, and social functioning. Soc Sci Med. 2004;58(12):2637–44.CrossRef
7.
Mollica RF, et al. Disability associated with psychiatric comorbidity and health status in bosnian refugees living in croatia. JAMA. 1999;282(5):433–9.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Rasmussen A, et al. Onset of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression among refugees and voluntary migrants to the United States. J Trauma Stress. 2012;25(6):705–12.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
9.
UNHCR, The 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol. Author: Geneva, Switzerland, 2011.
10.
Miller KE, Rasmussen A. War exposure, daily stressors, and mental health in conflict and post-conflict settings: bridging the divide between trauma-focused and psychosocial frameworks. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(1):7–16.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Porter M, Haslam N. Predisplacement and postdisplacement of refugees and internally displaced persons: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2005;294(5):602–12.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Davidson GR, Murray KE, Schweitzer R. Review of refugee mental health and wellbeing: Australian perspectives. Aust Psychol. 2008;43(3):160–74.CrossRef
13.
Galea S, Steenland M. The social determinants of mental health. In: Cottler LB, editor. Mental health in public health: the next 100 years. New York: Oxford University Press; 2011. p. 223–46.
14.
Solar O, Irwin A. A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2007.
15.
Nghe LT, Mahalik JR, Lowe SM. Influences on vietnamese men: examining traditional gender roles, the refugee experience, acculturation, and racism in the United States. J Multicult Couns Devel. 2003;31(4):245–61.CrossRef
16.
Hadley C, Patil C. Perceived discrimination among three groups of refugees resettled in the USA: associations with language, time in the USA, and continent of origin. J Immigr Minor Health. 2009;11(6):505–12.CrossRefPubMed
17.
18.
Kawachi I, Subramanian SV. Neighbourhood influences on health. J Epidemiol Community Health (1979-). 2007;61(1):3–4.CrossRef
19.
Singer A, Wilson JH. From ‘there’ to ‘here’: Refugee resettlement in metropolitan America. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution; 2006.
20.
Kim I, Chen J, Spencer MS. Social determinants of health and mental health among Asian Americans in the United States. J Soc Social Work Res. 2012;3:346–61.CrossRef
21.
22.
Carrasquillo O, Carrasquillo AI, Shea S. Health insurance coverage of immigrants living in the United States: differences by citizenship status and country of origin. Am J Public Health. 2000;90(6):917–23.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Thamer M, et al. Health insurance coverage among foreign-born US residents: the impact of race, ethnicity, and length of residence. Am J Public Health. 1997;87(1):96–102.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
24.
Kao D. Factors associated with ethnic differences in health insurance coverage and type among Asian Americans. J Community Health. 2010;35(2):142–55.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Kim I, Kim W. Post-resettlement challenges and mental health of Southeast Asian Refugees in the United States. Best Pract Mental Health. 2014;10(2):63–77.
26.
Hollifield M, et al. Measuring trauma and health status in refugees: a critical review. JAMA. 2002;288(5):611–21.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Kirmayer LJ, et al. Trauma and disasters in social and cultural context. In: Morgan C, Bhugra D, editors. Principles of social psychiatry. 2nd ed. London: Wiley; 2010. p. 155–77.CrossRef
28.
Berry JW. Stress perspectives on acculturation. In: Sam DL, Berry JW, editors. The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2006. p. 43–57.CrossRef
29.
Suinn RM. Reviewing acculturation and Asian Americans: how acculturation affects health, adjustment, school achievement, and counseling. Asian Am J Psychol. 2010;1(1):5–17.CrossRef
30.
Beiser M, Hou F. Language acquisition, unemployment and depressive disorder among Southeast Asian refugees: a 10-year study. Soc Sci Med. 2001;53(10):1321–34.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Yoo HC, Gee GC, Takeuchi DT. Discrimination and health among Asian American immigrants: disentangling racial from language discrimination. Soc Sci Med. 2009;68(4):726–32.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Alegria M, Jackson JS, Kessler RC, Takeuchi D. Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001–2003 [United States]. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center; 2007. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) [distributor], 2008-06-19.
33.
Heeringa SG, et al. Sample designs and sampling methods for the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Studies (CPES). Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2004;13(4):221–40.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Pennell B-E, et al. The development and implementation of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, the National Survey of American Life, and the National Latino and Asian American Survey. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2004;13(4):241–69.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Ryan D, Dooley B, Benson C. Theoretical perspectives on post-migration adaptation and psychological well-being among refugees: towards a resource-based model. J Refug Stud. 2008;21(1):1–18.CrossRef
36.
37.
Lin EHB, Carter WB, Kleinman AM. An exploration of somatization among Asian refugees and immigrants in primary care. Am J Public Health. 1985;75(9):1080–4.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
38.
Perry CT, Oum P, Gray SH. The body remembers: somatic symptoms in traumatized Khmer. J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry. 2007;35(1):77–84.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Rohlof HG, Knipscheer JW, Kleber RJ. Somatization in refugees: a review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49(11):1793–804.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Keyes CLM, Ryff CD. Somatization and mental health: a comparative study of the idiom of distress hypothesis. Soc Sci Med. 2003;57(10):1833–45.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Westermeyer J, et al. Somatization among refugees: an epidemiologie study. Psychosomatics. 1989;30(1):34–43.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Sue DW, et al. Racial microaggressions and the power to define reality. Am Psychol. 2008;63(4):277–9.CrossRef
43.
Sue DW, et al. Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice. Am Psychol. 2007;62(4):271–86.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Brenner AB, et al. Neighborhood context and perceptions of stress over time: an ecological model of neighborhood stressors and intrapersonal and interpersonal resources. Am J Community Psychol. 2013;51(3–4):544–56.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
45.
Ellen IG, Mijanovich T, Dillman K-N. Neighborhood effects on health: exploring the links and assessing the Evidence. J Urban Aff. 2001;23(3–4):391–408.CrossRef
46.
47.
Mowafi H, Spiegel P. The Iraqi refugee crisis: familiar problems and new challenges. JAMA. 2008;299(14):1713–5.CrossRefPubMed
48.
Schweitzer RD, et al. Mental health of newly arrived Burmese refugees in Australia: contributions of pre-migration and post-migration experience. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2011;45(4):299–307.CrossRefPubMed
49.
Subedi P, et al. Mental health first aid training for the Bhutanese refugee community in the United States. Int J Mental Health Syst. 2015;9(1):1–7.CrossRef
50.
Onyut L, et al. Trauma, poverty and mental health among Somali and Rwandese refugees living in an African refugee settlement—an epidemiological study. Conflict Health. 2009;3(1):6.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
51.
Fazel M, et al. Mental health of displaced and refugee children resettled in high-income countries: risk and protective factors. Lancet. 2012;379(9812):266–82.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Beyond Trauma: Post-resettlement Factors and Mental Health Outcomes Among Latino and Asian Refugees in the United States
Author
Isok Kim
Publication date
01-08-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0251-8

Other articles of this Issue 4/2016

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 4/2016 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Suicidal Ideation and Mental Health of Bhutanese Refugees in the United States

Original Paper

Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Among South Asian Women Living in Southern Ontario

Original Paper

An Investigation into Suicides Among Bhutanese Refugees Resettled in the United States Between 2008 and 2011

Original Paper

A Path Analysis of Mental Health Among Thai Immigrant Employees in Pranakron Si Ayutthaya Province

Original Paper

Latino Mother/Daughter Dyadic Attachment as a Mediator for Substance Use Disorder and Emotional Abuse

Original Paper

Health-Seeking Behaviors of Filipino Migrants in Australia: The Influence of Persisting Acculturative Stress and Depression