Dataset Information

Migrants' mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Forced migration leaves deep marks on the psychological well-being of migrants, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological conditions being prevalent among them. While research has clarified the extent to which pre-migration trauma is a predictor of mental health outcomes, the role of post-migration stressors in the settlement environment are yet to be fully characterized.

Methods

We monitored mental health of a cohort of 100 asylum-seekers during their 14-day COVID-19-related quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy, through the administration of six questionnaires (a demographic survey, the WHO-5 well-being index, the Primary Care PTSD Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report, and the LiMEs-Italian version). Through the combination of statistical analysis and supervised learning, we studied the impact of the first contact with the reception system on asylum-seekers' mental health and sought for possible risk and shielding factors for PTSD.

Results

We find that sheltering in refugee centers has a positive impact on migrants' mental health; asylum-seekers with PTSD reported more traumatic events and personality characteristics related to loss and trauma; life events are predictors of PTSD in asylum-seekers.

Conclusions

We identify past traumatic experiences as predictors of PTSD, and establish the positive role the immediate post-migration environment can play on migrants' psychological well-being. We recommend for host countries to implement reception models that provide effective protection and integration of asylum-seekers, similar to those in the Italian system.

SUBMITTER: Caroppo E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10665420 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Migrants' mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities.

Caroppo Emanuele E Calabrese Carmela C Mazza Marianna M Rinaldi Alessandro A Coluzzi Daniele D Napoli Pierangela P Sapienza Martina M Porfiri Maurizio M De Lellis Pietro P

Communications medicine 20231122 1

<h4>Background</h4>Forced migration leaves deep marks on the psychological well-being of migrants, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological conditions being prevalent among them. While research has clarified the extent to which pre-migration trauma is a predictor of mental health outcomes, the role of post-migration stressors in the settlement environment are yet to be fully characterized.<h4>Methods</h4>We monitored mental health of a cohort of 100 asylum-seekers durin ...[more]

PMID: 37993495

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Dataset Information

Migrants' mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Migrants' mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities.

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