Persistent psychological distress in resettled refugee women-at-risk at one-year follow-up: Contributions of trauma, post-migration problems, loss, and trust.

The mental health of women has been largely neglected in the refugee literature, notwithstanding the specific gender-related issues that confront women seeking asylum. Furthermore, a specific category of women, deemed to be women-at-risk, face particular challenges in their journey and resettlement process. This longitudinal study investigated psychological distress in refugee women-at-risk one year after resettlement in Australia. Follow-up survey of 83 women-at-risk (mean age = 33.41 years; SD = 11.93) assessed: trauma events and symptoms; loss events and loss distress; level of post-migration problems; anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms; and absence of trust in community members. Participants demonstrated no symptom change since initial assessment (p > .05). Substantial proportions of women reported traumatization (39%), PTSD (20%), anxiety (32%), and depression (39%) above clinical cut-offs, and high levels of somatization and loss distress. Post-migration problems, trauma events, and region of birth were associated with all symptoms, with post-migration problems the strongest predictor. Absence of trust in community members was associated with trauma, depression, and somatic symptoms. Initial trauma and somatic symptoms were associated with follow-up traumatic and somatic symptoms. Loss and trauma events were associated with loss distress. Findings underline the role of post-migration problems on psychological distress and the need to consider women's psychological wellbeing in the context of their trauma and loss history, potential impacts of ethnicity, and complex socio-cultural dynamics underpinning issues of trust within communities. Effective service delivery requires that practitioners screen for and address psychological distress in women-at-risk at least up to 18 months after resettlement.

The 'Flow' of compassion: A meta-analysis of the fears of compassion scales and psychological functioning.

This meta-analysis examined the associations between the fears of compassion and mental health. We extracted 19 studies reporting 154 effect sizes (Pearson's r) from 22 independent samples published during the last seven years, with data from 4723 participants. All studies used the Fears of Compassion Scales (FCS), which includes three subscales; fears of compassion for self, for others, and receiving from others. Specific mental health outcomes included: depression; anxiety; distress; and well-being, as well as the psychological vulnerability factors of self-criticism and shame. The overall association between the three FCS subscales and mental health difficulties was .49, .30 and .48 for fears of self-compassion, fears of compassion for others, and fears of compassion from others, respectively. Across mental health domains and vulnerability factors, pooled effect sizes ranged between r = .13 and .55 (in absolute value), with the strongest associations found between the mental health variables of shame, self-criticism, and depression, and the FCS subscales of fears of self-compassion and fears of receiving compassion. Moderator analyses were also conducted, including, age, gender, publication status, and sample (clinical vs. non-clinical). Overall, clinical populations demonstrated significantly stronger associations between mental health difficulties and fears of self-compassion, relative to non-clinical populations.