A house is not a home: a network model perspective on the dynamics between subjective quality of living conditions, social support, and mental health of refugees and asylum seekers

  • Background: Providing adequate living conditions for forcibly displaced people represents a significant challenge for host countries such as Germany. This study explores refugee mental health’s reciprocal, dynamic relationship with post-migration living conditions and social support. Methods: The study sample included 325 Arabic- or Farsi-speaking asylum seekers and refugees residing in Germany since 2014 and seeking mental health treatment. Associations between reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress and depression and the subjective quality of living conditions and perceived social support were analyzed using a two-level approach including multiple linear regression and network analyses. Results: Post-migration quality of living conditions and perceived social support were significantly associated with negative mental health outcomes on both levels. In the network, both post-migration factors were negatively connected with overlapping symptoms of psychiatric disorders,Background: Providing adequate living conditions for forcibly displaced people represents a significant challenge for host countries such as Germany. This study explores refugee mental health’s reciprocal, dynamic relationship with post-migration living conditions and social support. Methods: The study sample included 325 Arabic- or Farsi-speaking asylum seekers and refugees residing in Germany since 2014 and seeking mental health treatment. Associations between reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress and depression and the subjective quality of living conditions and perceived social support were analyzed using a two-level approach including multiple linear regression and network analyses. Results: Post-migration quality of living conditions and perceived social support were significantly associated with negative mental health outcomes on both levels. In the network, both post-migration factors were negatively connected with overlapping symptoms of psychiatric disorders, representing potential target symptoms for psychological treatment. Conclusion: Post-migration quality of living conditions and social support are important factors for refugee mental health and should be targeted by various actors fostering mental well-being and integration.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Laura Schilz, Solveig Kemna, Carine Karnouk, Kerem Böge, Nico Lindheimer, Lena Walther, Sara Mohamad, Amani Suboh, Alkomiet HasanORCiDGND, Edgar Höhne, Tobias Banaschewski, Paul Plener, Michael Strupf, Erik Hahn, Malek Bajbouj
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:384-opus4-1020317
Frontdoor URLhttps://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/102031
ISSN:0933-7954OPAC
ISSN:1433-9285OPAC
Parent Title (English):Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Publisher:Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Place of publication:Berlin
Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2023
Publishing Institution:Universität Augsburg
Release Date:2023/02/15
Tag:Psychiatry and Mental health; Social Psychology; Health (social science); Epidemiology
Volume:58
First Page:757
Last Page:768
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-022-02419-3
Institutes:Medizinische Fakultät
Medizinische Fakultät / Lehrstuhl für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie
Nachhaltigkeitsziele
Nachhaltigkeitsziele / Ziel 10 - Weniger Ungleichheiten
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Licence (German):CC-BY 4.0: Creative Commons: Namensnennung (mit Print on Demand)