Posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic growth and psychological resilience in Syrian refugees: Hatay, Turkey

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and to investigate the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic growth and resilience in Syrian refugees. Methods: The sample includes 310 Syrian refugees living in the Reyhanli district of Hatay. Demographic Information Form, Impact of Events Scale (IES-R), Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) Section I, Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were used as the data collection tools. Results: The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 80%. Low monthly income and desire to return to their home country were found to be risk factors for PTSD. Refugees with PTSD had higher war-related traumatic events. Posttraumatic growth is higher among refugees with PTSD, particularly in the areas of relating to others and spiritual change. Resilience and posttraumatic growth was found to be positively correlated and regression analysis showed that resilience promotes posttraumatic growth. Conclusion: After trauma, posttraumatic growth can be increased by strengthening the resilience of Syrian refugees.