Predicting positive health outcomes in trauma-exposed refugees

Background: It is well documented that refugees suffer from poor somatic and mental health when compared to both immigrants and natives of the host country. Research has predominantly focused on trauma as a predictor of poor mental and somatic health in refugee populations, and many studies have exclusively used self-report measures. Little research has attempted to examine the predictors of positive health outcomes. Methods: This study is the first to focus on predicting positive health in a random sample of recently arrived refugees (n = 298) and immigrant controls (n = 314) using both self-report and diagnostic measures of mental and somatic health outcomes. Structural equations were used to model positive health outcomes, including the absence of diagnosed chronic diseases, depression and PTSD, as well as low levels of symptoms of depression and PTSD. Results: Analyses revealed that lower levels of pre-migration trauma were predictive of better health on all measures. Furthermore, even though refugees experienced significantly more trauma they had better SCID verified mental health than did immigrants. Additionally, fewer family-related hassles were linked to better mental and somatic health, and those with more stimulating social environments were shown to have better mental health. Conclusion: These results suggest that enriching the social environment and promoting family harmony may help to ease the transition into the host country, thereby increasing positive health outcomes during this time of stress. Such findings should be taken into account by healthcare and public policy professionals who are working with immigrant and refugee populations.