Predictors of mental health risks in newly resettled North Korean refugee women
Abstract
This study aimed to find factors that predict high risk groups for mental health condition in recently immigrated North Korean refugee women. The number of North Korean refugee women has increased in the recent years and currently makes up about 3 out of 4 entrants. The rise in their number, greater susceptibility of mental health in women, and multiple trauma these women are suspected to have been exposed to such as human trafficking and sexual violence, call for attention to their mental health. Multinomial logistical regression analysis was conducted to identify the variables determining the likelihood of an individual to be in varying risk groups that were clustered into 4 groups: (1) non-clinical group; (2) PTSD only group; (3) depression/anxiety only group; (4) co-morbidity of PTSD and depression/anxiety group. The findings of the analysis include: trauma exposure increased the odds of an individual to be in one of three clinical groups with the highest odds to be in co-morbidity group. Living with a family increased the odds for favorable mental health status, whereas having a chronic medical problem elevated the odds for poor mental health. Childhood trauma raised the risk of an individual developing depression/anxiety while not affecting the odds against PTSD or mental health co-morbidity. Depression/anxiety seems to be a greater threat to the psychological adjustment of North Korean women than PTSD, looking at the prevalence rates of two clinical conditions. Implications of the study findings and recommendations were made.
- keywords
- 외상, 외상 후 스트레스장애, 우울, 불안, 북한이탈여성, trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, North Korean refugee women, trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, North Korean refugee women
Reference
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