Socio-cultural manifestations of PTSD among asylum seekers and refugees: where is the trauma?
| Collaborateur | Gail Womersley |
| Directeur de la thèse | Laure Kloetzer |
| Résumé |
Europe is living through a refugee crisis of historic proportions
which has now become one of the continent’s defining challenges of
the early 21st century. Not least among the difficulties are the
public health challenges of the multiple traumas faced by this
population which constitute severe threats to human, social,
cultural, and community development. The mental health impact of
atrocities endured by refugee populations is clear, with the
literature reporting significantly high prevalence rates of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among this population (de
Arellano & Danielson, 2008; Kirmayer, Kienzler, Afana, &
Pedersen, 2010; Lambert & Alhassoon, 2015; Schweitzer, R.,
Melville, Steel, & Lacherez, 2006; Zachary Steel et al., 2009;
Sturm, Baubet, & Moro, 2010; Van Ommeren et al., 2001; Weine,
Kuc, Eldin, Razzano, & Pavkovic, 2001). However, there have
been significant concerns raised in the literature over the
relevance and cross-cultural validity of PTSD as a diagnostic
construct (P. Bracken, 2002; P. J. Bracken, 2001; Fisher, 2014;
Hinton & Lewis‐Fernández, 2011; Janoff-Bulman,
1985; Kirmayer et al., 2010; Marsella, 2010; Staeuble, 2004;
Summerfield, 2001; Tummala-Narra, 2007; Wasco, 2003; Young, 1995).
There is a plethora of research indicating that culture and
linguistic heritage influences what experiences are interpreted as
‘traumatic,’ the manifestations and expressions of post-traumatic
symptomatology, the interpretation of symptoms, narratives of
distress and healing models (Janoff-Bulman, 1985; Kirmayer et al.,
2010; Kleinman & Good, 2004; Luno, Beck, & Louwerse, 2013;
Marsella, 2010). In response to the need for more research designed
to examine contextually specific and culturally relevant aspects of
post-trauma recovery, the study aims to increase our understanding
of trauma responses among refugees and asylum seekers within
specific socio-cultural contexts by drawing on in-depth qualitative
research techniques. The study is centred on a year-long follow-up of 6-10 beneficiaries of the MSF Victims of Torture (VOT) Project in Athens and their partner organization, Babel. Complementary data will also be gained through 5 sources in order to locate these individual narratives within a socio-cultural context: 1) Semi-structured interviews with family and community members 2) Semi-structured interviews with ‘key informants’ - professionals working with this population 3) Routine data collected by the VOT project 4) Group discussions among beneficiaries of the project 5) Observing intake interviews of new beneficiaries entering the project |
| Mots-clés |
Refugees asylum seekers trauma migration PTSD |
| Type de projet | Recherche de thèse |
| Domaine de recherche | Psychologie socioculturelle |
| Etat | Terminé |
| Début de projet | 1-11-2015 |
| Fin du projet | 1-11-2019 |
| Contact | Gail Womersley |