Perceived adversity and psychological distress in refugee married couples resettling in the United States

Background: Syrian and Iraqi refugees are a growing segment of the U.S. population, and although exposure to war and violence has been linked to psychological distress in individual refugees, few studies have examined the distress in married couples. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, a conven...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social psychiatry 2023-08, Vol.69 (5), p.1268-1276
Main Authors: Khalil, Dalia, George, Zinah, Templin, Thomas, Jenuwine, Elizabeth, Javanbakht, Arash
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adversity
Anxiety
Cognitive therapy
Correlation analysis
Couples
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Husbands
Marriage - psychology
Married couples
Mental depression
Perceptions
Post traumatic stress disorder
Psychological Distress
Psychological trauma
Refugees
Spouses
Spouses - psychology
United States
Wives
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Summary:Background: Syrian and Iraqi refugees are a growing segment of the U.S. population, and although exposure to war and violence has been linked to psychological distress in individual refugees, few studies have examined the distress in married couples. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, a convenience sample of 101 Syrian and Iraqi refugee couples was recruited from a community agency. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the relationships between perceived adversity and psychological distress (PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms) among individual study participants; and (2) determine whether these relationships were correlated to their spouses’ perceived adversity and psychological distress. Results: The bivariate correlation analysis showed strong positive correlations between PTSD and depression/anxiety for wives (r = .79; p 
ISSN:0020-7640
1741-2854
DOI:10.1177/00207640231158977