Abstract
BackgroundThe role of migration pathway (refugees vs. asylum seekers) is seldom addressed in extant literature that looks at gender and mental health of humanitarian migrants. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between gender and psychological distress among humanitarian migrants in Australia including the potential moderating role of migration pathway.MethodsWe analyse data from 2399 humanitarian migrants that participated in the first wave of Building a New Life in Australia, a survey of humanitarian migrants in Australia, using Ordinary Least Squares multivariate regression.ResultsWomen report significantly higher psychological distress than men. Migration pathway moderates the relationship between gender and psychological distress with women asylum seekers reporting higher psychological distress. There is also a significant association between pre-migration trauma, settlement arrangements (particularly those associated with finance, housing, getting used to life in Australia and loneliness) and psychological distress.ConclusionsFindings indicate higher psychological distress among asylum seeking women and suggest the importance of migrant status in predicting psychological distress. Settlement arrangements are key predictors of psychological distress among humanitarian migrants. While strategies aimed at addressing their mental health are warranted, policies aimed at the broader social determinants of health are needed to alleviate some of their mental distress especially in light of the recent changes to the Australian Refugee and Asylum-seeking policies.
Highlights
The role of migration pathway is seldom addressed in extant literature that looks at gender and mental health of humanitarian migrants
In model II adjusted for socio-demographic variables and migration pathway, women report higher psychological distress (β 1.03, p < 0.001) than men but being a refugee is not significantly associated with psychological distress compared to being an asylum seeker
While strategies aimed at addressing the mental health needs of humanitarian migrants are warranted, policies aimed at the broader social determinants of health are needed to alleviate some of the mental distress experienced by this population especially asylum seekers including those who arrived in Australia after 2014
Summary
The role of migration pathway (refugees vs. asylum seekers) is seldom addressed in extant literature that looks at gender and mental health of humanitarian migrants. Gender disparities in mental health has attracted a lot of international scholarship with decades of epidemiological and sociological research from both clinical and non-clinical population finding evidence of gender disparities in mental health [1, 2] Incipient research extends this evidence base to humanitarian migrants [3,4,5], with refugee women being significantly more at risk of mental health conditions such as depression and. Psychological distress can be defined as ‘the unpleasant subjective states of depression and anxiety, which have both emotional and physiological manifestations’ (p.8) [8] It is an indicator of mental health that has been extensively used in population surveys, epidemiological studies and public health to assess variations in wellbeing [9]. Because exposure to stressful events that threaten physical and mental health are defining features of psychological distress [9] especially among humanitarian migrants- given the double stressors they endure
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