Violent Victimization and Post-traumatic Stress Increase Suicide Ideation among Trafficking Survivors in Ghana

• In Event: Victimization and Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

Violent victimization and mental health problems are common concerns among human trafficking survivors. However, we know little about how violent victimization and mental health are linked in this population. Informed by the stress process model, we investigate how experiences of violent victimization while being trafficked affect chronic stress and suicide ideation among labor trafficked women. Data are derived from a sample of 116 labor trafficked women in Accra, Ghana. We use path analysis to analyze the relationship between trafficking-related violence, chronic stress, and suicide ideation at two time points. We find that experiencing physical violence while being trafficked is predictive of higher levels of chronic stress and of higher levels of suicide ideation during the initial time point of data collection. Further, we find that chronic stress fully mediates the effect of violent victimization on suicide ideation and that chronic stress has an indirect effect on suicide ideation one year later. Findings indicate both the long-term effects of chronic stress and the enduring nature of suicide ideation. By offering an analytic account of how trafficking-related violence impacts mental health, we contribute to the general literature on violence and mental health and to literature on the health implications of human trafficking.

Authors

• Timothy Edgemon, Auburn University

• Jody Clay-Warner, University of Georgia

• Tenshi Kawashima, University of Georgia

• John Anarfi, University of Ghana

• David Okech, University of Georgia