Displacement-related stressors in a Sri Lankan war-affected community: Identifying the impact of war exposure and ongoing stressors on trauma symptom severity

Thomas, Fiona C., Coulombe, Simon, Girard, Todd A., Hart, Tae L., Doherty, Shannon, Dass, Giselle, Wickramage, Kolitha, Siriwardhana, Chesmal, Surenthirakumaran, Rajendra and McShane, Kelly (2022) Displacement-related stressors in a Sri Lankan war-affected community: Identifying the impact of war exposure and ongoing stressors on trauma symptom severity. SSM Mental Health. ISSN 2666-5603

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Abstract

In recent years, there has been a shift in the literature towards identifying how ongoing stress adversely affects mental health beyond the effect of direct exposure to war-related violence. The goal of the current study was to investigate the relationship between displacement-related stressors and trauma symptom severity. Participants (N = 1015) were recruited from primary healthcare clinics (PHCs) in Northern Sri Lanka and completed a demographic and displacement history questionnaire, the Stressful Life Events Checklist, and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Four latent stressor constructs were identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses: 1) personal safety concerns; 2) war-related loss; 3) material loss, and 4) personal hardships. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between stressors and trauma symptom severity. In the final structural equation model, war-related loss and material loss were positively related to symptom severity whereas psychosocial hardship was found to be negatively related to symptom severity. Results highlight how an integrated model of mental health can more fully inform the needs stemming from displacement-related stressors.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	chronic stressors, posttraumatic stress disorder, Sri Lanka, post-conflict, structural equation modeling
Faculty:	Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine & Social Care
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic User
Depositing User:	Symplectic User
Date Deposited:	06 Jun 2022 16:11
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2022 09:28
URI:	https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/707663

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