Angela Nickerson, Gulsah Kurt, Belinda Liddell, David Keegan, Randy Nandyatama, Atika Yuanita, Rizka Argadianti Rachmah, Joel Hoffman, Shraddha Kashyap, Natalie Mastrogiovanni, Vivian Mai, Anna Camilleri, Dessy Susanty, Diah Tricesaria, Hasti Rostami, Jenny Im, Marta Gurzeda, Mitra Khakbaz, Sarah Funnell, Zico Pestalozzi, Philippa Specker
{"title":"The longitudinal relationship between psychological symptoms and social functioning in displaced refugees.","authors":"Angela Nickerson, Gulsah Kurt, Belinda Liddell, David Keegan, Randy Nandyatama, Atika Yuanita, Rizka Argadianti Rachmah, Joel Hoffman, Shraddha Kashyap, Natalie Mastrogiovanni, Vivian Mai, Anna Camilleri, Dessy Susanty, Diah Tricesaria, Hasti Rostami, Jenny Im, Marta Gurzeda, Mitra Khakbaz, Sarah Funnell, Zico Pestalozzi, Philippa Specker","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724003519","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Refugee experiences of trauma and displacement can significantly disrupt established social networks. While social functioning has been routinely associated with mental health, to our knowledge, no study has tested the direction of influence between social and psychological functioning within displaced refugee communities. This study investigated the temporal association between psychological symptoms (PTSD, depression, anger) and multiple facets of social functioning (including community connectedness, perceived social responsibility, positive social support and negative social support).</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A culturally diverse sample of refugees (N = 1,235) displaced in Indonesia completed an online survey at four time-points, six months apart. Longitudinal structural equation modelling was used to investigate the temporal ordering between psychological symptoms and social functioning.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Findings revealed that greater psychological symptoms were associated with a subsequent deterioration in social functioning (decreased positive social support and community connectedness and increased negative social support and perceived social responsibility). Greater perceived social responsibility was also associated with subsequent increases in psychological symptoms, while positive social support and community connectedness were bi-directionally associated over-time.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings highlight the potential utility of mental health interventions for displaced refugees as a means to improve social functioning and inclusion with host communities. Findings have important implications in guiding the development of interventions and allocation of resources to support refugee engagement and wellbeing in displacement contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":"55 ","pages":"e40"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychological Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724003519","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Refugee experiences of trauma and displacement can significantly disrupt established social networks. While social functioning has been routinely associated with mental health, to our knowledge, no study has tested the direction of influence between social and psychological functioning within displaced refugee communities. This study investigated the temporal association between psychological symptoms (PTSD, depression, anger) and multiple facets of social functioning (including community connectedness, perceived social responsibility, positive social support and negative social support).
Method: A culturally diverse sample of refugees (N = 1,235) displaced in Indonesia completed an online survey at four time-points, six months apart. Longitudinal structural equation modelling was used to investigate the temporal ordering between psychological symptoms and social functioning.
Results: Findings revealed that greater psychological symptoms were associated with a subsequent deterioration in social functioning (decreased positive social support and community connectedness and increased negative social support and perceived social responsibility). Greater perceived social responsibility was also associated with subsequent increases in psychological symptoms, while positive social support and community connectedness were bi-directionally associated over-time.
Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential utility of mental health interventions for displaced refugees as a means to improve social functioning and inclusion with host communities. Findings have important implications in guiding the development of interventions and allocation of resources to support refugee engagement and wellbeing in displacement contexts.
期刊介绍:
Now in its fifth decade of publication, Psychological Medicine is a leading international journal in the fields of psychiatry, related aspects of psychology and basic sciences. From 2014, there are 16 issues a year, each featuring original articles reporting key research being undertaken worldwide, together with shorter editorials by distinguished scholars and an important book review section. The journal''s success is clearly demonstrated by a consistently high impact factor.