TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-recognition of trauma-related psychopathology and help-seeking among resettled Iraqi refugees in Australia
AU - Mond, Jonathan
AU - Slewa-Younan, Shameran
AU - Uribe Guajardo, Maria Gabriela
AU - Mohammad, Yaser
AU - Johnson, Emma
AU - Milosevic, Diana
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The current study sought to examine resettled Iraqi refugees’ recognition of trauma-related psychopathology and the association between recognition and help-seeking. Participants were 66 men and women aged 18 to 70 years with clinically significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recruited from a larger, community-based sample in Western Sydney, Australia. Participants were presented with a vignette of a fictional character who had been exposed to trauma prior to leaving Iraq and who was suffering from symptoms of PTSD. Participants were then asked if they believed that they might currently have a problem such as the one described in the vignette. Approximately half (50.8%) of participants believed that they might currently have a problem such as the one described in the vignette and one third (33.3%) of participants had ever sought help for such a problem. Participants who believed that they might currently have a problem like the one described were 13 times more likely to have sought help for such a problem, controlling for demographic characteristics, trauma-related symptomatology, and levels of general psychological distress. Poor self-recognition level of trauma-related psychopathology among resettled Iraqi refugees may be a barrier to help-seeking and may therefore be an important target for health promotion and early intervention initiatives.
AB - The current study sought to examine resettled Iraqi refugees’ recognition of trauma-related psychopathology and the association between recognition and help-seeking. Participants were 66 men and women aged 18 to 70 years with clinically significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recruited from a larger, community-based sample in Western Sydney, Australia. Participants were presented with a vignette of a fictional character who had been exposed to trauma prior to leaving Iraq and who was suffering from symptoms of PTSD. Participants were then asked if they believed that they might currently have a problem such as the one described in the vignette. Approximately half (50.8%) of participants believed that they might currently have a problem such as the one described in the vignette and one third (33.3%) of participants had ever sought help for such a problem. Participants who believed that they might currently have a problem like the one described were 13 times more likely to have sought help for such a problem, controlling for demographic characteristics, trauma-related symptomatology, and levels of general psychological distress. Poor self-recognition level of trauma-related psychopathology among resettled Iraqi refugees may be a barrier to help-seeking and may therefore be an important target for health promotion and early intervention initiatives.
KW - help-seeking behavior
KW - mental health
KW - post-traumatic stress disorder
KW - refugees
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:55970
U2 - 10.1177/1363461520901635
DO - 10.1177/1363461520901635
M3 - Article
SN - 1461-7471
SN - 1363-4615
VL - 58
SP - 215
EP - 225
JO - Transcultural Psychiatry
JF - Transcultural Psychiatry
IS - 2
ER -