Neuropsychiatrie
Volume 28, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 6-11

Responses to conflict, family loss and flight: Posttraumatic stress disorder among unaccompanied refugee minors from Africa (Article)

Völkl-Kernstock S. , Karnik N. , Mitterer-Asadi M. , Granditsch E. , Steiner H. , Friedrich M.H. , Huemer J.*
  • a Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
  • b Department of Psychiatry, Rush University, 1645 West Jackson Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
  • c Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
  • d Rohrbach Hospital, Krankenhausstraße 1, 4150 Rohrbach, Austria
  • e Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Child Psychiatry and Child Development, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5719, United States
  • f Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
  • g Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria

Abstract

Objective: To investigate African unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) living in Austria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence and related symptoms, comorbidity, demographics and coping strategies. Method: "UCLA PTSD Index and inventories" and "Scales for Children Afflicted by War and Persecution (SCWP)" were used to assess 41 African URMs. Results: The study revealed lower PTSD rates than measured among URMs in previous studies. Girls were more likely to develop PTSD. PTSD was significantly correlated with single war-related traumatic events. The depression score for the sample was above the clinical cut-off value. Conclusions: Trauma-specific psychopathology was less severe than reported in other studies. These findings could be explained by concepts of resilience. Other implications, such as response bias, are discussed. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.

Author Keywords

posttraumatic stress disorder African unaccompanied refugee minors coping strategies

Index Keywords

anxiety flight depression refugee demography correlation analysis human sex difference Life Change Events Refugees comorbidity war coping behavior Minors death Austria disaster religion Cross-Sectional Studies Humans Adolescent Domestic Violence male female geographic origin Africa clinical article prevalence Resilience, Psychological Article Family Relations minor (person) adult conflict management posttraumatic stress disorder Sex Factors Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic disease severity hazard drug traffic fire Escape Reaction
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84898599405&doi=10.1007%2fs40211-013-0094-2&partnerID=40&md5=1f2a5f27fab502bcd3bdfe3fa48c7ca5
DOI: 10.1007/s40211-013-0094-2
ISSN: 09486259
Cited by: 12
Original Language: English