The Longitudinal Relation between Daily Hassles and Depressive Symptoms among Unaccompanied Refugees in Norway.
The aim of the present longitudinal study is to understand the longitudinal relation between depressive symptoms and daily hassles (i.e., general and acculturation hassles) in a high-risk population of unaccompanied refugees. We investigated the validity of three stress-mental health models: the stress exposure model, the stress generation model, and the reciprocal model. Data were collected from 918 unaccompanied refugees in Norway in three waves. Of the initial sample, the majority (82.1%) were male (M age = 19.01 years, SD = 2.54 years). The data were analyzed with auto-regressive cross-lagged modeling and latent growth curve modeling. The results supported the stress exposure model for the relation between depressive symptoms and acculturation hassles, indicating that acculturation hassles predicted the subsequent levels of depressive symptoms rather than vice versa. On the other hand, the reciprocal model was supported for the relation between depressive symptoms and general hassles indicating a bidirectional, mutual relation. Unconditional latent growth models further showed that depression level remained unchanged over time, while levels of acculturation and general hassles decreased. The implications for clinical practice and immigration policy are discussed.
['Keles|Serap|S|', 'Idsøe|Thormod|T|', 'Friborg|Oddgeir|O|', 'Sirin|Selcuk|S|', 'Oppedal|Brit|B|']
D000069:Acculturation D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D003863:Depression D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D033242:Minors D008960:Models, Psychological D009664:Norway D012036:Refugees D013315:Stress, Psychological D055815:Young Adult
Daily hassles Depressive symptoms Acculturation stress Longitudinal analyses Unaccompanied refugee minors