Trauma and Mental Health in Resettled Refugees: Mediating Effect of Host Language Acquisition on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms

This study examined the relationship between traumatic exposure, host language acquisition and mental health (posttraumatic stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms) in long-term resettled refugees. Participants included a community sample of Bosnian refugees (N = 138, 55% male, mean age of 40 years...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transcultural psychiatry 2019-02, Vol.56 (1), p.3-23
Main Authors: Kartal, Dzenana, Alkemade, Nathan, Kiropoulos, Litza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety - epidemiology
Australia - epidemiology
Austria - epidemiology
Depression - epidemiology
Female
Humans
Language
Life Change Events
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Psychological
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Refugees - psychology
Self Report
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology
Warfare
Young Adult
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Summary:This study examined the relationship between traumatic exposure, host language acquisition and mental health (posttraumatic stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms) in long-term resettled refugees. Participants included a community sample of Bosnian refugees (N = 138, 55% male, mean age of 40 years old) that had resettled in Australia and Austria on average 18 years prior. Two mediation models were tested based on two competing theories. Model A examined whether language acquisition mediates the relationship between traumatic exposure and mental health problems experienced by refugees. Model B examined whether mental health symptoms mediate the relationship between exposure to traumatic events and the acquisition of host language. Model A fit the data well (CFI = 1.00, SRMR = .017, RMSEA 
ISSN:1363-4615
1461-7471
DOI:10.1177/1363461518789538