Moscardino Ughetta, Ceccon Chiara, Mastromatteo Libera Ylenia, Scrimin Sara, Lionetti Francesca, Pluess Michael
Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jul 30;16:1441946. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1441946. eCollection 2025.
Asylum seekers are frequently exposed to severe pre- and postmigration stressors that place them at elevated risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While much is known about trauma exposure, less research has examined how individual differences in environmental sensitivity-defined as heightened responsiveness to contextual influences-shape mental health outcomes in this population. This study explores how postmigration living difficulties and intolerance of uncertainty relate to specific PTSD symptom clusters, and whether environmental sensitivity moderates these associations.
Participants were 157 male asylum seekers ( = 26.3 yrs, = 6.05) mostly originating from West Africa (89%) and hosted in second-line facilities in Northeastern Italy. Asylum seekers were individually interviewed by trained researchers using questionnaires on postmigration living difficulties, intolerance of uncertainty, environmental sensitivity, and posttraumatic stress symptoms.
Commonly reported stressors were lack of work (83%), family separation (77%), fear of deportation (72%), and delays in asylum processing (69%). Overall, 41% of participants exceeded the clinical cutoff for PTSD. Bivariate analyses indicated that postmigration stressors and intolerance of uncertainty were both associated with greater negative cognitions/affect and hyperarousal; postmigration stressors were also related to increased intrusion. In regression models, environmental sensitivity moderated these effects: among individuals facing high postmigration stressors, those low in sensitivity reported fewer avoidance symptoms. Conversely, among individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty, those with average or high sensitivity reported more negative cognitions/affect than their less sensitive peers.
Postmigration stressors and uncertainty contribute uniquely to PTSD symptomatology among asylum seekers, with environmental sensitivity shaping how these risk factors manifest. Environmental sensitivity-informed interventions (e.g., emotion regulation support for highly sensitive individuals) and policies aimed at reducing uncertainty and structural barriers could help buffer psychological distress in this vulnerable population.
寻求庇护者经常面临严重的移民前和移民后应激源，这使他们患创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的风险增加。虽然人们对创伤暴露了解很多，但较少有研究探讨环境敏感性方面的个体差异（定义为对情境影响的反应增强）如何影响这一人群的心理健康结果。本研究探讨了移民后生活困难和对不确定性的不耐受与特定PTSD症状群之间的关系，以及环境敏感性是否调节这些关联。
参与者为157名男性寻求庇护者（平均年龄 = 26.3岁，标准差 = 6.05），大多来自西非（89%），安置在意大利东北部的二线设施中。训练有素的研究人员使用关于移民后生活困难、对不确定性的不耐受、环境敏感性和创伤后应激症状的问卷对寻求庇护者进行单独访谈。
常见的应激源包括缺乏工作（83%）、家庭分离（77%）、被驱逐的恐惧（72%）和庇护申请程序延误（69%）。总体而言，41%的参与者超过了PTSD的临床临界值。双变量分析表明，移民后应激源和对不确定性的不耐受均与更多的负面认知/情感及过度警觉相关；移民后应激源也与侵入症状增加有关。在回归模型中，环境敏感性调节了这些影响：在面临高移民后应激源的个体中，敏感性低的个体报告的回避症状较少。相反，在对不确定性高度不耐受的个体中，敏感性中等或高的个体比敏感性较低的同龄人报告了更多的负面认知/情感。
移民后应激源和不确定性对寻求庇护者的PTSD症状形成有独特的影响，环境敏感性决定了这些风险因素如何表现。基于环境敏感性的干预措施（例如，为高度敏感个体提供情绪调节支持）以及旨在减少不确定性和结构性障碍的政策，可能有助于缓冲这一弱势群体的心理困扰。
