title: Kidnapping and Mental Health in Iraqi Refugees: The Role of Resilience.
abstract: Although kidnapping is common in war-torn countries, there is little research examining its psychological effects. Iraqi refugees (N = 298) were assessed upon arrival to the U.S. and 1 year later. At arrival, refugees were asked about prior trauma exposure, including kidnapping. One year later refugees were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression disorder (MDD) using the SCID-I. Individual resilience and narratives of the kidnapping were also assessed. Twenty-six refugees (9 %) reported being kidnapped. Compared to those not kidnapped, those who were had a higher prevalence of PTSD, but not MDD, diagnoses. Analyses examining kidnapping victims revealed that higher resilience was associated with lower rates of PTSD. Narratives of the kidnapping were also discussed. This study suggests kidnapping is associated with PTSD, but not MDD. Additionally, kidnapping victims without PTSD reported higher individual resilience. Future studies should further elucidate risk and resilience mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.|Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.|Office of the Vice President for Research, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
authors.forename: A Michelle
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Yousif R
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Talia
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.|Department of Psychology, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Abir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aldhalimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.|Department of Psychology, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Carissa L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Broadbridge
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.|Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, 788 Service Road, Room B106D Clinical Center, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Hikmet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jamil
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lumley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nnamdi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pole
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA. Bengt.Arnetz@hc.msu.edu.|Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, 788 Service Road, Room B106D Clinical Center, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA. Bengt.Arnetz@hc.msu.edu.|Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. Bengt.Arnetz@hc.msu.edu.
authors.forename: Bengt B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Arnetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.|Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, 788 Service Road, Room B106D Clinical Center, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.|Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Judith E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Arnetz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D000067073:Psychological Trauma / Q000208:ethnology; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Depression; Kidnapping; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Refugees; Resilience