International Journal of Public Health
Volume 64, Issue 5, 2019, Pages 763-772

The mental health effects of visa insecurity for refugees and people seeking asylum: a latent class analysis (Article)

Newnham E.A.* , Pearman A. , Olinga-Shannon S. , Nickerson A.
  • a School of Psychology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, 6845, Australia, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, United States, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
  • b Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS), Perth, Australia
  • c Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS), Perth, Australia
  • d School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

Objectives: Current regional conflicts are creating a surge in forced migration, and heightened visa restrictions are increasingly being applied. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between visa insecurity and psychological outcomes within a large clinical sample of refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. Methods: The sample comprised 781 clients (53.9% male, 16–93 years) attending a clinic for trauma survivors. Country of birth was most frequently identified as Afghanistan (18.1%), Iraq (15.3%) and Iran (15.1%). The Hopkins Symptom Checklist was administered at admission. Results: Latent class analyses identified four groups varying in severity of symptoms, namely very high (16.1%), high (38.1%), moderate (31.5%), and low (14.3%). People with insecure visa status were at least five times more likely to report high (OR = 5.86, p < 0.001) or very high (OR = 5.27, p < 0.01) depression and anxiety symptoms than those with permanent residency. Women were almost twice as likely to report high (OR = 1.96 p < 0.01) or very high (OR = 1.96, p < 0.05) symptoms. Conclusions: The findings suggest that temporary visas play a significant role in psychological distress and that timely immigration processing has important implications for health outcomes. © 2019, Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+).

Author Keywords

Migration Asylum Depression Gender Anxiety Refugee

Index Keywords

information processing latent class analysis refugee anxiety disorder Australia human Refugees middle aged survivor Survivors statistics and numerical data comparative study Aged Anxiety Disorders ethnology Young Adult Humans psychology Adolescent male female Aged, 80 and over very elderly Records adult migration posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Emigration and Immigration Torture
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85066467747&doi=10.1007%2fs00038-019-01249-6&partnerID=40&md5=e50029e0515c04f2f96b6472a308fea7
DOI: 10.1007/s00038-019-01249-6
ISSN: 16618556
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English