澳大利亚重新安置的伊拉克难民在参加英语补习班时的心理创伤与求助行为。
Psychological trauma and help seeking behaviour amongst resettled Iraqi refugees in attending English tuition classes in Australia.
作者信息
Slewa-Younan Shameran, Mond Jonathan M, Bussion Elise, Melkonian Maral, Mohammad Yaser, Dover Hanan, Smith Mitchell, Milosevic Diana, Jorm Anthony Francis
机构信息
Mental Health, School of Medicine, The University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797 Penrith South DC, NSW Australia.
Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
出版信息
Int J Ment Health Syst. 2015 Jan 20;9:5. doi: 10.1186/1752-4458-9-5. eCollection 2015.
BACKGROUND
To examine levels of psychological distress and help seeking behaviour in resettled refugees attending English tuition classes in Australia, and their associations with participants' demographic characteristics.
METHODS
Data was collected by bilingual interviewers between March and November 2013. A volunteer sample of attendees of Adult Migrant English Programs (AMEP) in Western Sydney were recruited. Participants were two hundred and twenty five Iraqi refugees resettled in Western Sydney, who had left Iraq no earlier than 1991, were fluent in Arabic and/or English, and were between the ages of 18 and 70. The chief outcome measures used were the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) as well as The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ).
RESULTS
On the K-10, 39.8% of participants had severe psychological distress, 19.4% moderate distress, and 40.7% had low to mild distress. Ninety-five percent of participants reported having experienced one or more potentially traumatic event (PTE) as defined by the HTQ prior to leaving Iraq, with a mean of 14.28 events (SD = 8.69). Thirty-one percent of participants met the threshold (≥2.5) for clinically significant PTSD symptomatology, with a significantly higher occurrence among participants with lower education attainment (χ (2) (3) = 8.26, p = .04). Of those participants with clinically significant PTSD symptomatology according to the HTQ, only 32.9% reported ever having ever sought help for a mental health problem.
CONCLUSIONS
The high level of distress found in this sample, combined with low uptake of mental health care, highlights the need for programs targeted to promote help-seeking among Iraqi refugees who have resettled in Australia. Further, the higher level of PTSD symptomatology found amongst those with lower education attainment has mental health promotion and treatment implications. Specifically, in designing service and treatment programs, consideration should be given to the possible impact excessive levels of psychological distress may have on learning in refugees, to ensure that those who have been unable to develop proficiency in the English language receive effective care.
背景
调查在澳大利亚参加英语补习课程的重新安置难民的心理困扰水平和求助行为，以及它们与参与者人口统计学特征的关联。
方法
2013年3月至11月间由双语访谈员收集数据。招募了悉尼西部成人移民英语项目（AMEP）的志愿者样本。参与者为225名重新安置在悉尼西部的伊拉克难民，他们于1991年及以后离开伊拉克，精通阿拉伯语和/或英语，年龄在18至70岁之间。主要使用的结局指标是凯斯勒心理困扰量表（K-10）以及哈佛创伤问卷（HTQ）。
结果
在K-10量表上，39.8%的参与者有严重心理困扰，19.4%有中度困扰，40.7%有轻度至低度困扰。95%的参与者报告在离开伊拉克之前经历过一项或多项哈佛创伤问卷定义的潜在创伤事件（PTE），平均为14.28起事件（标准差=8.69）。31%的参与者达到临床显著创伤后应激障碍症状的阈值（≥2.5），在受教育程度较低的参与者中发生率显著更高（χ²(3)=8.26，p=0.04）。根据哈佛创伤问卷有临床显著创伤后应激障碍症状的参与者中，只有32.9%报告曾因心理健康问题寻求过帮助。
结论
该样本中发现的高困扰水平，加上对心理健康护理的低利用率，凸显了针对促进已在澳大利亚重新安置的伊拉克难民寻求帮助的项目的必要性。此外，在受教育程度较低者中发现的较高水平的创伤后应激障碍症状对心理健康促进和治疗有影响。具体而言，在设计服务和治疗项目时，应考虑心理困扰程度过高可能对难民学习产生的影响，以确保那些未能熟练掌握英语的人得到有效护理。
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