Liddell Belinda J, Murphy Stephanie, Byrow Yulisha, O'Donnell Meaghan, Mau Vicki, McMahon Tadgh, Bryant Richard A, Specker Philippa, Nickerson Angela
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 May 30;22(6):855. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22060855.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have disproportionately affected forcibly displaced people due to parallel uncertainties such as visa insecurity and family separation. This study explicitly examined whether different sources of uncertainty contributed in specific ways to increased psychological symptoms for refugees during the pandemic. A large cohort of 733 refugees and asylum seekers settled in Australia completed a mental health survey in June 2020 (T1) and 12 months later in June 2021 (T2). Using cross-lagged panel modelling, we tested changes in post-traumatic stress (PTS), depression and anxiety symptoms, visa status, family separation and COVID-19 uncertainty stress, and the contribution of intolerance of uncertainty (trait prospective and inhibitory), controlling for age, sex, trauma exposure, language, and time in Australia. Visa status and family separation stress at T1 predicted increased depression (bidirectional pathways) and PTS symptoms at T2 (unidirectional pathways), respectively. Visa status uncertainty at T1 was also associated with increases in COVID-19 and family separation stress at T2. Intolerance of uncertainty showed limited associations with symptoms and stressors. Findings demonstrate that different forms of refugee uncertainty had specific impacts on psychopathology during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Refugees facing diverse kinds of stress may benefit from individual, community, and policy level support targeted to their specific circumstances and mental health needs during future crises.
由于签证不安全和家庭分离等并行的不确定性因素，新冠疫情对被迫流离失所者的影响可能尤为严重。本研究明确考察了不同来源的不确定性因素是否以特定方式导致了疫情期间难民心理症状的增加。一大群定居在澳大利亚的733名难民和寻求庇护者于2020年6月（T1）和12个月后的2021年6月（T2）完成了一项心理健康调查。我们使用交叉滞后面板模型，测试了创伤后应激（PTS）、抑郁和焦虑症状、签证状态、家庭分离和新冠疫情不确定性压力的变化，以及不确定性不耐受（特质前瞻性和抑制性）的作用，并对年龄、性别、创伤暴露、语言和在澳大利亚的时间进行了控制。T1时的签证状态和家庭分离压力分别预测了T2时抑郁症状（双向路径）和PTS症状（单向路径）的增加。T1时的签证状态不确定性还与T2时新冠疫情和家庭分离压力的增加有关。不确定性不耐受与症状和压力源的关联有限。研究结果表明，在新冠疫情的第一年，不同形式的难民不确定性对精神病理学有特定影响。在未来危机期间，面临各种压力的难民可能会从针对其特定情况和心理健康需求的个人、社区和政策层面的支持中受益。
