Withstanding psychological distress among internally displaced Yazidis in Iraq: 6 years after attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Abstract

Abstract Background Insurgents of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant created a crisis that has had immediate and long-term consequences for the population in Iraq. Yazidis are among the most affected ethnoreligious groups in the region. The current study focuses on investigating the level of psychological distress and its association with subjective resilience among the Yazidi minority 6 years after the attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Methods The present study recruited four hundred and twenty-two Yazidi individuals (50.8% female) residing in two camps in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. In face-to-face interviews, each participant replied to different scales to measure psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress), perceived stress, and subjective resilience. In addition, they were asked questions about mental health and psychosocial service acquisition. Results The results indicate that levels of psychological distress were high among the target population; around 65% of respondents reported having some level of psychological distress. Moreover, women showed not only higher level of psychological distress but also revealed slightly lower subjective resilience as compared to male participants. Hierarchical regressions showed that subjective resilience significantly contributed to the predictive model of distress beyond demographics and having received or not mental health and psychosocial support. Subjective resilience was significantly associated to less anxiety (R2adj = .157, ΔR2 = .022, p = .010) and stress (R2adj = .083, ΔR2 = .026, p = .008) in Mam-Rashan camp; and to less depression (R2adj = .184, ΔR2 = .095, p < .001), anxiety (R2adj = .140, ΔR2 = .024, p = .034), stress (R2adj = .046, ΔR2 = .047, p = .005), and perceived stress (R2adj = .024, ΔR2 = .032, p = .022) in Shekhan camp. Conclusions Conflict and displacement contribute to high level of psychological distress. Resilience, however, seem to have a negative association with psychological distress. Additionally, living conditions and sex also played an important role in both psychological distress and resilience. Consequently, Yazidi community residing in camps are in need of further support to alleviate the consequences of displacement. We critically discuss the differences in the results among participants per camp and by sex, and its implications.