Dataset Information

To what extent do post-traumatic mental health and other problems reflect pre-existing problems? Findings from the prospective comparative population-based VICTIMS-study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Findings from prospective studies question the assumption that mental health problems observed in traumatized adults mainly reflect the effects of potentially traumatic events.

Aims

Aim of the present comparative prospective study is to clarify the extent to which victims of potentially traumatic events with mental health, social, financial, and/or legal problems, already suffered from such problems before these events.

Method

Data was extracted from three surveys of the prospective VICTIMS-study (T1 = 2018, T2 = 2019, T3 = 2020), conducted with the population-based longitudinal LISS-panel. Differences between victims (n = 340, victimized by violence, accidents, and serious threats in the 12 months before T3) and nonvictims (n = 3,872, not victimized by such events in this period), were examined using multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results

The large majority of victims with current (at T3) anxiety and depression symptomatology (74%), general mental health problems (71%), partner/family (67%), financial (76%), and legal problems (58%), and lack of support (79%), already had these problems (at T1 and/or at T2). A similar pattern was observed among nonvictims. Of the victims with current probable PTSD (at T3), 87% already had any mental health problem. At T3, among both groups, the incidence of problems was substantially lower than their prevalence. The large majority of victims with post-event mental health, social, financial, and legal problems already suffered from these problems in the past.

Conclusions

When victims seek help for their problems, professional care providers should be aware that in most cases, as among nonvictims, these problems are chronic/re-current rather than new problems.

SUBMITTER: van der Velden PG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10248301 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

To what extent do post-traumatic mental health and other problems reflect pre-existing problems? Findings from the prospective comparative population-based VICTIMS-study.

van der Velden Peter G PG Contino Carlo C Das Marcel M Wittmann Lutz L

The International journal of social psychiatry 20221204 4

<h4>Background</h4>Findings from prospective studies question the assumption that mental health problems observed in traumatized adults mainly reflect the effects of potentially traumatic events.<h4>Aims</h4>Aim of the present comparative prospective study is to clarify the extent to which victims of potentially traumatic events with mental health, social, financial, and/or legal problems, already suffered from such problems before these events.<h4>Method</h4>Data was extracted from three survey ...[more]

PMID: 36464851

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Project description:BackgroundMental disorders among refugees have been well explored in several studies. However, longitudinal studies on the impact of the pandemic on refugee populations are widely lacking. This study was designed to examine the impact of the current pandemic on the mental health of Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.MethodThis longitudinal study involved a convenience sample of 732 Rohingya people with pre-existing health problems who lived in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The first recruitment was performed on 5 July 2019 (prepandemic visit) and assessed the health status of refugees using the Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15). The follow-up survey was conducted on 10 November 2020, approximately 15 months later, during the pandemic. A total of 342 Rohingya refugees who completed the initial survey participated in the follow-up survey. A newly developed COVID-19 Impact on Quality of Life (COV19-QoL) scale was used alongside the RHS-15 scale during the second survey. Ethical measures were taken in compliance with the current Declaration of Helsinki. The analysis was performed using SPSS 26.ResultA total of 342 Rohingya refugees completed this longitudinal survey. The average age of participants was 32.25 ± 14.01 years (SD), and the predominant age group was ≤ 30 years (n = 207, 60.5%). Most of the participants were female (n = 209, 61.1%). A significant increase in stress was noted from the prepandemic to pandemic periods, as determined by the RHS-15 scale (RHS-15 Part I: 22.96 ± 8.43 vs. 46.72 ± 1.87, p < 0.001; and RHS-15 Part II: 4.43 ± 1.59 vs. 6.91 ± 1.49, p < 0.001). The mean COV19-QoL score of the participants was 4.47 ± 0.15 (out of 5), indicating a perceived negative impact of the pandemic in their lives. In the multiple regression analysis, female sex (β = 0.604, p = 0.017) and COV19-QoL score (β = 2.537, p = 0.003) were significantly associated with higher perceived distress among participants.ConclusionRohingya refugees experienced a significant deterioration of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside other socioeconomic, environmental, and political factors, the pandemic itself might have been a crucial contributor to this negative trend.

Dataset Information

To what extent do post-traumatic mental health and other problems reflect pre-existing problems? Findings from the prospective comparative population-based VICTIMS-study.

Background

Aims

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

To what extent do post-traumatic mental health and other problems reflect pre-existing problems? Findings from the prospective comparative population-based VICTIMS-study.

Similar Datasets

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