Poster #91 - Mental Health in Unaccompanied Young Refugees and impact of post-flight factors on PTSD, depression and anxiety

• In Event: Poster Session 18

Abstract

Background
Unaccompanied young refugees (UYR) show elevated levels of mental distress such as depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms (e.g., Blackmore et al., 2020; Daniel-Calveras et al., 2022). The post-arrival situation in a host country play an important role in increasing or reducing mental health risks for these vulnerable children and youth (e.g., Fazel et al., 2012; Höhne et al., 2020). The study aims at examining the current state of mental health in UYR in Children and Youth Welfare Service (CYWS) facilities and the differential impact of postmigration factors on the mental health of UYR.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey of 132 young refugees (81% male, M=16.9 years old) was conducted in 22 CYWS facilities in Germany. The participants provided information about pre- and post-flight experiences via questionnaires. Standardized measures were used to assess PTSD symptoms (Child and Adolescent Trauma Screening, CATS-2), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9) and anxiety (Generalizied Anxiety Disorder Scale, GAD-7). Daily stressors for young refugees were assessed with the Daily Stressors Scale for Young Refugees (DSSYR), sociocultural adaptation with the Brief Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (BSAS). The questions on social support are based on the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6-G). Participants were also asked about the frequency of contact to family members and rated their distress regarding the asylum status on a 10-point-Likert scale.
Results
The screening of UYR resulted in clinical levels of PTSD for 42.4%, anxiety for 22.7% and depression for 41.7%. UYR reported high levels of daily stressors (M=9.23; SD=4.19). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the number of daily stressors predicted higher levels in all three domains of mental health problems. PTSD-symptoms were also associated with distress related to the current residence status. Additionally, less family contact was an important predictor of anxiety symptoms and sociocultural adaptation was also associated with fewer depressive symptoms. The satisfaction with social support did not explain additional variance in the regression models.
Conclusions
UYR in CYWS facilities are a highly vulnerable youth population. Daily stressors directly impact UYRs mental health. On the policy and practical level, stakeholders in host country are called for establishing measures to reduce postmigration stressors, ensure a stable environment, strengthen contact to family members and enhance support for UYR on all levels.

Authors

• Fabienne Hornfeck
  Presenting Author

• Selina Kappler

• Heinz Kindler, German Youth Institute