The Effect of Displacement on Mental Health: Staying or Leaving?

Abstract

In the last three decades, war, famines, natural disasters, and political upheaval have led many to be forced to migrate worldwide. In the 1970’s the number of refugees reached the estimate of 2.5 million, gradually increasing to 8.2 million within a decade, and by the 1990’s the number of refugees had reached 17 million [1]. As reported by the UNHCR (2013), the number of displaced has reached 45.2 million people. Previous literature has indicated that refugees generally suffer from several mental health issues including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) [1-5]. Also, previous studies have reported that displaced individuals suffer from high rates of mental health symptoms as compared to their non-displaced counterparts. A methodical review of psychiatric surveys on unselected refugee populations of 6743 adults from seven countries indicated that 9% of adults were diagnosed with PTSD, 5% with major depression, and 4% with generalized anxiety disorder. These findings suggest that refugees are ten times more likely to have PTSD than their non-displaced counterparts [6].