A type III continuous trauma perspective on the effects of increased ongoing hostility, discrimination, community violence and poverty on refugees' mental health and cognitive functioning: A longitudinal study

Abstract

AbstractHostilities and discrimination against refugees are continuous traumatic stressors (type III trauma) different from single past trauma. The goal was to measure their potential effects longitudinally. Recruiting 190 Syrian refugees in Turkey, we measured, two times, depression, complex PTSD, PTSD, anxiety, executive function, cumulative stressors, resilience, identity salience and the will to exist, live, survive and fight (WTELS‐F). We measured changes between times one and two. Using the structural equation, we tested two models. The first included latent variables ‘changes between times 1 and 2 in discrimination, community violence, and poverty (DCVP)’, ‘mental health,’ and ‘executive function deficits’. The second included identity salience, WTELS‐F, PTG and resilience. Results indicated that the increase in DCVP led to a significant increase in mental health symptoms and cognitive deficits. There was a parallel increase in WTELS‐F and PTG. Identity salience seems to lead to this increase in WTELS‐F and PTG. We examined the clinical and conceptual significance of the results. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.