Mental health of asylum seekers: a cross-sectional study of psychiatric disorders

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Martina Heeren¹  Ulrich Schnyder¹  Julia Mueller¹  Ulrike Ehlert²  Nadia Copiery²  Thomas Maier³ 

[1] Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Culmannstrasse 8, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland;Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse 14/26, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland;Psychiatric Services of the Canton St, Gallen-North, Wil, Switzerland;

关键词: Host Country;    Traumatic Event;    Mental Health Outcome;    Asylum Seeker;    Psychiatric Morbidity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-12-114

 received in 2012-02-22, accepted in 2012-07-17,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAsylum procedures are known to be protracted, stretching to over ten years in many host countries. International research shows high levels of distress for asylum seekers. Little is known about actual psychiatric morbidity in this population, especially during the first few years postmigration.MethodsThe mental health status of two groups of asylum seekers was assessed: Group 1 (n = 43) had arrived in Switzerland 2.9 (SD 1.1) months prior to assessment, while Group 2 (n = 43) had arrived 15.5 (SD 3.2) months prior to assessment. Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Symptom severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale), anxiety (Hopkins Symptom Checklist), depression (Hopkins Symptom Checklist), and pain (Verbal Rating Scale) were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Postmigratory factors such as German language proficiency and social contacts were also assessed. Interviews were conducted with the assistance of trained interpreters.ResultsFour out of ten participants met diagnostic criteria for at least one DSM-IV disorder. Groups did not differ with respect to psychiatric morbidity or symptom levels. Major depression (31.4%) and PTSD (23.3%) were diagnosed most frequently. The number of experienced traumatic event types was highly correlated with psychiatric morbidity.ConclusionsPsychiatric morbidity in asylum seekers in the first two years after arrival is high, with no indication of a decrease in mental distress over time. Traumatic experiences seem to play a major role in morbidity during this time. Considering the magnitude of clinically relevant distress, a short psychological screening upon arrival with a focus on traumatic experiences may be warranted.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Heeren et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.