Journal of Traumatic Stress
Volume 25, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 348-352

Measures of psychophysiological arousal among resettled traumatized iraqi refugees seeking psychological treatment (Article)

Slewa-Younan S.* , Chippendale K. , Heriseanu A. , Lujic S. , Atto J. , Raphael B.
  • a Mental Health, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • b Mental Health, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • c Mental Health, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • d Population Health, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • e Ware St. Medical Centre, Fairfield, NSW, Australia
  • f Disaster Response and Resilience Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, Medical School, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Abstract

Resettled refugees living in Western countries frequently report high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This study sought to measure levels of physiological arousal in a group of resettled Iraqi refugees in Australia receiving psychological treatment. A continuous recording of electrocardiogram (ECG) data was used to examine baseline heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in refugees (n = 25) and healthy age- and sex-matched controls (n = 23). Descriptively, PTSD (48%) was the most commonly noted disorder followed equally by major depressive episode (36%) and dysthymia (36%) in the refugees. Examination of the physiological data indicated that the refugee group had increased resting HR compared with healthy controls (78.84 vs. 60.08 beats per minute, p < .001). No significant differences were noted in the HRV data with age, gender, and years of education included in the model. This finding highlights the importance of examining levels of arousal in refugees presenting with mental health complaints to provide appropriate treatment strategies. © 2012 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

refugee Australia Heart Rate physiology psychological aspect human Refugees middle aged Iraq comparative study ethnology Mental Disorders mental disease Humans electrocardiography male female Article Biofeedback, Psychology posttraumatic stress disorder psychophysiology Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic patient attitude Patient Acceptance of Health Care pathophysiology
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84862760163&doi=10.1002%2fjts.21694&partnerID=40&md5=ad0e1ebaf5753aa7bb733fd8e838dd85
DOI: 10.1002/jts.21694
ISSN: 08949867
Cited by: 8
Original Language: English