Review2019

Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety in adult Syrian refugees: What do we know?

140 citations0/0 files storedScandinavian Journal of Public Health

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

Migration, Health and Trauma Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Mental Health Treatment and Access

Abstract

Background: The crisis in Syria has resulted in vast numbers of refugees seeking asylum in Syria’s neighboring countries and Europe. Refugees are at considerable risk of developing common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Since the war, no systematic review has been conducted regarding the prevalence of these in the Syrian refugee group. Research is needed to develop strategies to improve the integration of Syrian refugees. Objective: This study provides a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles that feature originally collected data regarding the prevalence of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety in adult Syrian refugees. Methods: The authors searched online databases (PsychInfo, PubMed, PILOTS) for peer-reviewed articles that used validated screening tools to provide mental health prevalence rate estimates in adult Syrian refugees. This article explores potential sources of heterogeneity, including individual risk factors such as demographic and environmental variables. Results: In total, 15 eligible studies provided cross-sectional data for 8176 adult Syrian refugees resettled in 10 countries, with significant variation in assessment and sampling methods. Combined, these studies indicate prevalence rates of 43.0% (range: 23.4–83.4%) for post-traumatic stress, 40.9% (range: 20–44.1%) for depression, and 26.6% (range: 19.30–31.8%) for anxiety morbidity in adult Syrian refugees. Larger and more rigorous surveys reported similar prevalence rates to studies with less rigorous designs, but vast heterogeneity in prevalence of morbidity persisted among all. Conclusions: Syrian refugees could be over 10 times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress and other disorders than the general population. Although there are limitations when comparing studies with different research methodologies, the results of this study suggest increased focus on adequate mental health support is necessary.

Citations in this library

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 140 citations exist upstream.

References

1998The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): the development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10 1988Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation 2002The PHQ-9: A New Depression Diagnostic and Severity Measure 1995The development of a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale 1974The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report symptom inventory 2001Social Ties and Mental Health 2009A 4-item measure of depression and anxiety: Validation and standardization of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) in the general population 2005Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review

Cited by

2021Prevalence of common mental health issues among migrant workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis 2023Mental health outcomes and quality of life of Ukrainian refugees in Germany 2023The effects of war, displacement, and trauma on child development 2023The mental health impact of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war 6 months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2025The use and impact of digital interventions on mental health and wellbeing of forced migrants: A systematic review of empirical studies

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.