Abstract
AbstractRefugees often experience poor physical and mental health outcomes following resettlement. These outcomes have been linked to the conditions that are experienced by refugees in the post‐migration context, but little is known about the mechanisms by which these conditions influence health. We therefore conducted secondary analyses of the Survey of New Refugees, a large longitudinal study commissioned by the UK Home Office with data collected at four time points spanning 21 months. Refugees’ experience of emotional distress such as feeling stressed, worried, and depressed fully mediated the relationship between post‐migration stressors and longitudinal general health. There was no evidence that perceived social support influenced this relationship. These findings suggest that emotional distress contributes to poor health outcomes among refugees and thus that interventions might target emotional distress.
Highlights
Refugees apply for re-settlement in a new country after fleeing lifethreatening situations in their country of origin, such as war, genocide, and persecution
The surveys included measures of post-migration stressors, social support, emotional distress (including anxiety depression and stress and genera hea th We used the dataset to explore (a) whether emotional distress and social support mediate the relationship between post-migration stressors and refugee health over time, and (b) whether social support moderates the relationship between post-migration stressors, emotional distress, and general health over time
The present analysis is the first to demonstrate that the relationship between certain post-migration stressors and the longitudinal health of refugees is fully mediated by emotional distress
Summary
Refugees apply for re-settlement in a new country after fleeing lifethreatening situations in their country of origin, such as war, genocide, and persecution. The present research seeks to identify how or why post-migration stressors affect health outcomes among refugees by investigating the extent to which economic and social stressors experienced following migration have a lasting impact on refugees’ general health. One way that economic and social stressors might affect refugees’ health is through emotional distress, which reflects individuals’ experiences of stress, anxiety, and depression over time (Marmot, 2005). The present research investigates the extent to which social support moderates the effect of (a) post-migration stressors on emotional distress, (b) the maintenance of emotional distress over time, and (c) the effect of emotional distress on the longitudinal health of refugees (Research Question 3). The surveys included measures of post-migration stressors, social support, emotional distress (including anxiety depression and stress and genera hea th We used the dataset to explore (a) whether emotional distress and social support mediate the relationship between post-migration stressors and refugee health over time, and (b) whether social support moderates the relationship between post-migration stressors, emotional distress, and general health over time
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