标题：Complex posttraumatic stress disorder and different types of postmigration living difficulties in a treatment-seeking sample of refugees in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: A network analysis
摘要：Refugees and asylum seekers are at increased risk of developing mental health problems due to exposure to traumatic events and numerous postmigration living difficulties (PMLDs). The current COVID-19 pandemic might further deteriorate the mental health of refugees. The network approach to mental disorders defines symptoms as directly and causally influencing each other. Furthermore, symptoms interact with external factors such as stressors. The complex interplay of PMLDs and CPTSD has not yet been investigated from a network perspective. To explore the network structure and the complex interplay of ICD-11 CPTSD symptoms, PMLDs, and pandemic-associated anxiety. Method: A sample of 93 treatment-seeking Afghan refugees and asylum seekers was assessed through a fully structured and interpreter-assisted interview. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we included items on pandemic-associated anxiety, subsequently scored by 28 participants. We conducted a network analysis and correlated pandemic-associated anxiety with PMLDs and CPTSD. Results: Preliminary results suggest a strong positive connection between affective dysregulation and the PMLD factor “conflicts and discrimination”. Further associations between the PMLD factors and negative self-concept, re-experience, and avoidance were identified. Pandemic-associated anxiety and the symptoms of CPTSD and PMLDs showed a small positive correlation. Conclusions: Affective dysregulation might play a major role in the experience of PMLDs. Experiencing conflicts and discrimination might form a downward spiral with the inability to regulate one’s emotions. Improving affect regulation capacities could thus reduce distress due to conflicts and discrimination. Pandemic-associated anxiety seems to have a negative impact on asylum seekers’ and refugees’ mental health.
