Work

Attachment, emotion regulation, and their roles in refugee post-traumatic stress and post-migration living difficulties

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Upon arrival in the host country, refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) experience a range of post-migration living difficulties (PMLD), which are often linked to psychological symptoms such as post-traumatic stress (PTS). Initial research suggests that attachment insecurity partly explains the association between PMLD and psychological symptoms in RAS. However, the mechanisms through which attachment insecurity may act as a mediator are not well understood, though emotion dysregulation is one of the potential candidates.Objectives: This study investigated (1) whether attachment insecurity (i.e. anxiety and avoidance) mediate the association between PMLD and PTS, and (2) whether this mediation model can be extended to emotion dysregulation.Methods: 134 treatment-seeking RAS living in Switzerland completed questionnaires assessing PMLD, attachment insecurity, emotion dysregulation, and PTS. Two models were tested: (1) a parallel mediation analysis with attachment anxiety and avoidance as mediators, and (2) a serial mediation analysis with attachment anxiety as the first and emotion dysregulation as the second mediator.Results: First, PMLD was indirectly associated with PTS through attachment anxiety but not avoidance. Second, the association between PMLD and PTS was further explained by a pathway through attachment anxiety and emotion dysregulation.Conclusions: Although this study is limited by its cross-sectional design, we identified attachment anxiety and emotion dysregulation as potential mechanisms explaining how PMLD affects symptoms of PTS in RAS. Systematically assessing attachment style and addressing emotion regulation may therefore help improve treatment of refugee and asylum-seeking patients.

Source: European Journal of Psychotraumatology

DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2400834

Authors: Jennifer Kurath, Richard A. Bryant, Angela Nickerson, Ulrich Schnyder, Matthis Schick, Naser Morina

Institutions: University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, UNSW Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,704