Citation

Comtesse H, Edelhoff H, Rosner R, Lechner-Meichsner F. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol. 2024; 15(1): e2383525.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, The Author(s), Publisher Co-action Publishing)

DOI

10.1080/20008066.2024.2383525

PMID

39082693

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Refugees and asylum seekers (ASRs) are frequently exposed to loss in addition to a variety of other stressors and often display high levels of various psychological symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to primarily determine clusters of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression symptoms in bereaved ASRs and secondly identify predictors of cluster membership. Sociodemographic  - and flight-related variables were investigated in exploratory analyses.

METHOD: ASRs in Germany (N = 92) with interpersonal loss exposure, i.e. at least one missing or deceased relative or friend, were assessed with interview-based questionnaires for PGD, PTSD, and depressive symptoms. We used k-means cluster analysis to distinguish symptom profiles and logistic regression analyses to identify predictors of cluster membership.

RESULTS: We found a three-cluster-solution. The PGD-cluster (30%) was characterised predominantly by PGD symptoms, while the PGD/PTSD-cluster (32%) had high PGD and PTSD and moderate depressive symptoms. The resilient cluster (38%) showed low symptoms overall. insecure residence status predicted membership in the PGD and PGD/PTSD clusters relative to the resilient cluster, whilst higher attachment anxiety predicted membership in the PGD/PTSD cluster relative to the other clusters. Explorative analysis revealed duration of stay as a significant predictor.

CONCLUSION: Findings can extend the current knowledge about different symptom profiles among bereaved ASRs in Europe. Insights to attachment  - and migration-related variables distinguishing between these profiles offer starting points for interventions.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Female; Male; Middle Aged; attachment; Germany; Surveys and Questionnaires; Refugees; depression; posttraumatic stress disorder; Cluster Analysis; asylum seekers; *Depression/psychology; *Bereavement; *Grief; *Refugees/psychology/statistics & numerical data; *Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology/diagnosis; análisis de agrupamiento k-media; apego; bereavement; depresión; duelo; K-means cluster analysis; prolonged grief disorder; Refugiados; solicitantes de asilo; trastorno de duelo prolongado; trastorno de estrés postraumático