The Relationship Between Post-migration Stressors and Mental Health Outcomes for Refugees

Over 6000 refugees have re-settled in Vermont since 1990, many with histories of severe trauma and torture. It is well established that trauma and torture are related to mental health concerns for refugees (Jaronson et al, 2008). However, fewer studies have focused on the post-migration stressors after resettlement. This two-part study involves both quantitative and qualitative designs. Study 1 - a quantitative design, examines the relationship between post migration stressors (language barrier, educational level, unemployment and community support) and mental health outcomes. Study 2 – a qualitative design involves interviews with direct service providers from the Connecting Cultures program and an exploratory analysis of their views regarding their perceptions of pre and post-migration factors impacting refugees. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSC) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) were used to measure anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms among 40 refugees (50% male) for the quantitative design. Study 2-  the semi-structured interviews were analyzed with the NVIVO 10 statistical package. We did a regression analysis for each of the post-migration stressors, and the preliminary results indicated that employment was the only stressor that predicted mental health outcomes, even after controlling for gender. This result suggests that employment is an important stressor after resettlement. However, an increase in sample size is needed to fully address this question. Further studies should focus on the effects of both pre-migration traumas and post-migration stressors on psychiatric symptomatology for refugee populations.