Somatisation and anger are associated with symptom severity of posttraumatic stress disorder in severely traumatised refugees and asylum seekers

• Published in: Swiss medical weekly Vol. 146; no. 1718; p. w14311
• Main Authors: Spiller, Tobias R, Schick, Matthis, Schnyder, Ulrich, Bryant, Richard A, Nickerson, Angela, Morina, Naser
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW) 2016
• Subjects: Adult; Anger; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; explosive anger; Female; Humans; Male; PTSD; refugees; Refugees - psychology; Self Report; Severity of Illness Index; somatic symptoms; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy; Surveys and Questionnaires; Switzerland; Wounds and Injuries - psychology
• ISSN: 1424-7860; 1424-3997
• DOI: 10.4414/smw.2016.14311

Most research on refugee mental health has focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Besides PTSD, however, traumatised refugees are often burdened by comorbid somatic and psychiatric conditions, as well as postmigration living difficulties (PMLD). It is unclear how these conditions interfere with presentation and treatment of PTSD. This preliminary cross-sectional study investigated 134 severely traumatised refugees and asylum seekers in treatment in two psychiatric outpatient units in Switzerland. Trauma exposure, PMLD, somatisation and explosive anger were assessed and related to symptom severity of PTSD using correlation and regression analyses. PTSD symptoms were significantly related to somatisation, anger, PMLD and trauma exposure. Regression analysis revealed that PTSD symptoms were mainly predicted by somatisation and anger. Symptom severity of PTSD is associated with somatisation, explosive anger and, to a lesser extent, PMLD. Standard PTSD treatment may benefit from implementing targeted strategies to assess and address these factors in traumatised refugees.