The Longitudinal Relation between Daily Hassles and Depressive Symptoms among Unaccompanied Refugees in Norway

Serap Keles, Thormod Idsøe, Oddgeir Friborg, Selcuk Sirin, Brit Oppedal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

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 (Mage = 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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1413-1427
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology
Volume45
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2017

Keywords

  • Acculturation stress
  • Daily hassles
  • Depressive symptoms
  • Longitudinal analyses
  • Unaccompanied refugee minors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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