Community coherence and acculturation strategies among refugee adolescents: How do they explain mental-health symptoms?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Against the backdrop of 10 years of civil war in Syria, with millions of refugees, this study aimed to explore sense of community coherence and the acculturation strategies of separation and competition as factors that might explain mental-health problems among adolescent Syrian refugees in Greece. Methods: Data were gathered from 173 adolescents aged 13–18 (M = 15.85; SD = 1.49); female adolescents accounted for 60.7% of the sample. Participants filled out a self-reported questionnaire regarding internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They were also asked about their sense of community coherence, their use of different acculturation strategies, and sociodemographic factors (i.e., gender, age, amount of time spent in the camp, and parents' education), as well as contextual factors such as exposure to war events, appraisal of danger, and whether they had received aid from various organizations. Results: The female adolescents reported a stronger sense of community coherence and that they had received more aid from organizations than the male adolescents reported receiving. The male adolescents reported more externalizing problems. Exposure and appraisal of danger, as well as sense of community coherence and the use of the acculturation strategies of separation and competition all significantly explained the various mental-health problems. Conclusions: This article underscores the significance of gender, community coherence, and acculturation strategies in the prediction of mental health. It presents the results of this research in the context of the salutogenic and acculturation models.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number152227
JournalComprehensive Psychiatry
Volume106
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2021

Keywords

  • Acculturation
  • Community coherence
  • Mental health
  • Refugees

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Clinical Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Community coherence and acculturation strategies among refugee adolescents: How do they explain mental-health symptoms?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this