Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 21, Issue 2, 2019, Pages 271-277

Psychometric Properties of the Multidimensional Loss Scale with Refugee Women-at-Risk Recently Arrived in Australia (Article)

Vromans L.* , Schweitzer R.D. , Brough M. , Correa-Velez I. , Murray K. , Lenette C.
  • a School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
  • b School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
  • c School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
  • d School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
  • e School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
  • f School of Social Sciences, Forced Migration Research Network, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

Abstract

Refugee women-at-risk represent a distinct and vulnerable refugee population. We investigated the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Loss Scale (MLS) with 104 women-at-risk, recently-arrived in Australia. Cross-sectional survey included: the MLS (indexing loss events and loss distress); Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (Indexing Trauma Events and Trauma Symptoms), and; Hopkins Symptom Checklist-37 (indexing anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms). Exploratory factor analyses of MLS loss distress revealed a six-factor model (loss of symbolic self; loss of home; loss of interdependence; loss of past aspirations; interpersonal loss, and; loss of intrapersonal integrity). Cronbach alphas indicated satisfactory internal consistency for loss events (0.83) and distress (0.88). Correlations supported convergent validity of loss distress with trauma symptoms (r = 0.41) and divergent validity with anxiety (r = 0.09), Depression (r = 0.29), and somatic (r = 0.24) symptoms. Findings support MLS use in assessment of loss and associated distress with refugee women-at-risk. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

psychometric properties Refugees Assessment Loss Women-at-risk

Index Keywords

depression refugee Australia validation study human Refugees middle aged quality of life Young Adult Surveys and Questionnaires Humans psychology female reproducibility Reproducibility of Results questionnaire Psychometrics psychometry social adaptation adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Social Adjustment
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85047178007&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-018-0750-5&partnerID=40&md5=47d403b901ba179d93a107bdf9a166ac
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0750-5
ISSN: 15571912
Original Language: English