"I Feel Like I do Not Exist:" A Study of Dissociative Experiences Among War-Traumatized Refugee Youth

• Published in: Psychological trauma 2018-09, Vol.10 (5), p.542-550
• Main Authors: Gušić, Sabina, Malešević, Andrea, Cardeña, Etzel, Bengtsson, Hans, Søndergaard, Hans Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Characteristics; Analysis of Variance; Cognition; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Emotion); Dissociation; Dissociative Disorders - psychology; Dreams - psychology; Emotional Regulation; Emotions; Female; Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi; Human; Humans; Hälsovetenskap; Interviews as Topic; Klinisk medicin; Male; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Memory; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Psykiatri; Qualitative Research; Refugees; Refugees - psychology; Self Report; Self-Perception; Thinking; Time Perception; Trauma; War; War Exposure; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1942-9681; 1942-969X; 1942-969X
• DOI: 10.1037/tra0000348

Objective: War-traumatized refugee children and adolescents have been overlooked in research on trauma-related dissociation, and whatever research has been conducted has relied almost exclusively on questionnaires. The present study was an exploration of dissociative experiences in multitraumatized war-refugee youth. Method: In this study, we used a mixed-method approach by grouping participants according to a Western-based dissociation measure (the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale; Armstrong, Putnam, Carlson, Libero, & Smith, 1997), and conducting qualitative and quantitative analyses of their verbal descriptions of mental experiences related to dissociation in the aftermath of war and resettlement. The sample included 40 refugee youth, ages 13 to 21, 19 girls and 21 boys resettled in Sweden because of war and persecution. Results: Severe trauma-related dissociation was a problem for a considerable subgroup of the sample. Some dissociative experiences were present in all the sample; others were restricted to the most dissociative group. The correlates of severe dissociation included high frequency and severity of emotional dysregulation and intensity, negative self- and body-perception, depressive mood, and experiences of detachment. Conclusion: Clinicians are urged to be aware of and assess trauma-related dissociation in war-refugee youth, and consider not only dissociative phenomena, but also other important processes such as emotional dysregulation. Clinical Impact Statement This study was an exploration of dissociative experiences in multitraumatized war-refugee adolescents by combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Emotional dysregulation and intensity, negative self- and body perception, depressive mood, and experiences of detachment were especially related to severe dissociation. The results offer clinicians knowledge about amount and type of experiences related to dissociation in a severely traumatized group of refugee youth, including gender and culture considerations about dissociation.