Hornfeck Fabienne, Eglinsky Jenny, Garbade Maike, Rosner Rita, Kindler Heinz, Pfeiffer Elisa, Sachser Cedric
German Youth Institute, Munich, Germany.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Front Psychol. 2023 Jun 20;14:1149634. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1149634. eCollection 2023.
Unaccompanied young refugees (UYRs) show elevated levels of mental distress such as post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, and anxiety. The individual post-arrival situation in the host country plays an important role in increasing or reducing mental health risks for these vulnerable children and youth. The study aims at examining the impact of pre- and post-migration factors on the mental health of UYRs.
A cross-sectional survey of = 131 young refugees (81.7% male, = 16.9 years old) was conducted in 22 children and youth welfare service (CYWS) facilities in Germany. The participants provided information about pre- and post-flight experiences. Standardized measures were used to assess post-traumatic stress symptoms (CATS-2), symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7). Daily stressors were assessed with the Daily Stressors Scale for Young Refugees (DSSYR), sociocultural adaptation with the Brief Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (BSAS), satisfaction with social support with the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6-G).
Our results demonstrated clinical levels of PTSS in 42.0% of the participants, depression in 29.0%, and anxiety in 21.4%. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that a higher number of traumatic events and social daily stressors predicted higher levels in all three domains of mental health problems. PTSS and anxiety were also predicted by the distress related to the residence status, depressive symptoms were additionally predicted by sociocultural adaptation, less family contact and length of stay. The satisfaction with social support was not a significant predictor in the regression models.
Unaccompanied young refugees in CYWS facilities are a highly vulnerable population. As traumatic events, daily stressors and level of contact to family directly impacted UYRs mental health, interventions should be trauma-focused, but also contain modules on how to cope with daily stressors. On the policy and practical level, stakeholders in host countries are called for establishing measures to reduce post-migration stressors and enhance support for UYRs on all levels.
无人陪伴的年轻难民（UYRs）表现出较高水平的心理困扰，如创伤后应激症状（PTSS）、抑郁和焦虑。抵达东道国后的个人情况在增加或降低这些弱势儿童和青少年的心理健康风险方面起着重要作用。本研究旨在探讨迁移前和迁移后因素对无人陪伴年轻难民心理健康的影响。
在德国的22个儿童和青少年福利服务（CYWS）机构对131名年轻难民（81.7%为男性，平均年龄16.9岁）进行了横断面调查。参与者提供了飞行前和飞行后的经历信息。使用标准化测量工具评估创伤后应激症状（CATS-2）、抑郁症状（PHQ-9）和焦虑症状（GAD-7）。使用《年轻难民每日应激源量表》（DSSYR）评估每日应激源，使用《简短社会文化适应量表》（BSAS）评估社会文化适应情况，使用《社会支持问卷》（SSQ6-G）评估对社会支持的满意度。
我们的结果显示，42.0%的参与者有临床水平的创伤后应激症状，29.0%有抑郁症状，21.4%有焦虑症状。分层回归分析表明，更多的创伤事件和社会日常应激源预示着心理健康问题的所有三个领域的水平更高。与居住身份相关的困扰也预示着创伤后应激症状和焦虑，社会文化适应、较少的家庭联系和停留时间也预示着抑郁症状。对社会支持的满意度在回归模型中不是一个显著的预测因素。
儿童和青少年福利服务机构中的无人陪伴年轻难民是一个高度脆弱的群体。由于创伤事件、日常应激源和与家庭的联系程度直接影响无人陪伴年轻难民的心理健康，干预措施应以创伤为重点，但也应包含如何应对日常应激源的模块。在政策和实践层面，呼吁东道国的利益相关者制定措施，以减少迁移后的应激源，并在各个层面加强对无人陪伴年轻难民的支持。
