Vietnamese boat refugees: the influence of war and flight traumatization on mental health on arrival in the country of resettlement. A community cohort study of Vietnamese refugees in Norway.

A consecutive cohort of 145 adult Vietnamese refugees were personally interviewed and completed the Symptom Checklist 90 R self-rating scale on arrival in Norway. Sixty-two percent had witnessed bombing, fires and shooting, 48% had witnessed other people being wounded or killed and 36% had been involved in life-threatening situations or had been wounded in the war. Nearly all war trauma variables but none of the escape or refugee camp variables were significantly related to mental health 7 years after the end of the war. War trauma was significantly associated with mental health, also when age, gender and previous mental problems were controlled for. These results and our clinical experience indicate that clinicians treating refugees should address such traumatic experiences specifically.