Citation

Gillespie S, Cardeli E, Sideridis G, Issa O, Ellis BH. Health Place 2020; 65: e102419.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102419

PMID

32877868

Abstract

Refugees and immigrants resettled in high income countries often later experience a new phase of residential uncertainty in search of safe and secure housing. This study investigated the effect of past year housing stability on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exposure to neighborhood violence among a sample of 1st and 2nd generation Somali young adults (N = 198) living in urban areas in North America. In one year, 8.1% of the sample experienced a forced move and 20.7% of the sample moved voluntarily. Discrimination, neighborhood violence, economic insecurity, and interpersonal conflict precipitated forced moves. Forced moves were associated with worsening PTSD symptomology over one year, while voluntary moves were associated with improvements in symptoms. The current study provides evidence of the importance of safe, stable housing for the mental health of young adult immigrants.

Language: en

Keywords

Posttraumatic stress disorder; Refugees; Violence exposure; Housing security; Ontological security