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Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Experienced Discrimination and Daily Stressors

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Spiritus-Beerden

    (Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

  • An Verelst

    (Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

  • Ines Devlieger

    (Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

  • Nina Langer Primdahl

    (Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Fábio Botelho Guedes

    (Department of Health Education, University of Lisbon, 1400 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Antonio Chiarenza

    (Department of Biomedical, Metabolical and Neurosciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy)

  • Stephanie De Maesschalck

    (Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

  • Natalie Durbeej

    (Department of Child Health and Parenting, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Rocío Garrido

    (Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Seville, Spain)

  • Margarida Gaspar de Matos

    (Department of Health Education, University of Lisbon, 1400 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Elisabeth Ioannidi

    (Institutional Discourse Research Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 14122 Athens, Greece)

  • Rebecca Murphy

    (Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, W23 F2K8 Co. Kildare, Ireland)

  • Rachid Oulahal

    (DIRE Laboratory, Department of Social Sciences, La Reunion University, 97400 Saint-Denis, France)

  • Fatumo Osman

    (Department of Child Health and Parenting, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
    School of health and Welfare, Dalarna University, 79188 Falun, Sweden)

  • Beatriz Padilla

    (Department of Sociology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
    ISCTE-IUL, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Virginia Paloma

    (Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Seville, Spain)

  • Amer Shehadeh

    (Department of Psychology, Al Istiqlal University, Jericho P 580, Palestine)

  • Gesine Sturm

    (Department of Psychology, Université de Toulouse, 31058 Toulouse, France)

  • Maria van den Muijsenbergh

    (Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Katerina Vasilikou

    (Research Center for Greek Society, Academy of Athens, 15126 Athens, Greece)

  • Charles Watters

    (Department of School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, Sussex BN1 4GE, UK)

  • Sara Willems

    (Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

  • Morten Skovdal

    (Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Ilse Derluyn

    (Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a defining global health crisis of our time. While the impact of COVID-19, including its mental health impact, is increasingly being documented, there remain important gaps regarding the specific consequences of the pandemic on particular population groups, including refugees and migrants. This study aims to uncover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of refugees and migrants worldwide, disentangling the possible role of social and daily stressors, i.e., experiences of discrimination and daily living conditions. Descriptive analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the responses of N = 20,742 refugees and migrants on the self-reporting global ApartTogether survey. Survey findings indicated that the mental health of refugees and migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly impacted, particularly for certain subgroups, (i.e., insecure housing situation and residence status, older respondents, and females) who reported experiencing higher levels of increased discrimination and increases in daily life stressors. There is a need to recognize the detrimental mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on particular refugee and migrant groups and to develop interventions that target their unique needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Spiritus-Beerden & An Verelst & Ines Devlieger & Nina Langer Primdahl & Fábio Botelho Guedes & Antonio Chiarenza & Stephanie De Maesschalck & Natalie Durbeej & Rocío Garrido & Margarida Gaspar de , 2021. "Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Experienced Discrimination and Daily Stressors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6354-:d:573475
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Zane Varpina & Kata Fredheim, 2022. "The Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on migrants’ decision to return home to Latvia," SSE Riga/BICEPS Occasional Papers 16, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS);Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga).
    2. José Renkens & Els Rommes & Maria van den Muijsenbergh, 2022. "Refugees' Agency: On Resistance, Resilience, and Resources," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Ana Gama & João Victor Rocha & Maria J. Marques & Sofia Azeredo-Lopes & Ana Rita Pedro & Sónia Dias, 2022. "How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Migrant Populations in Lisbon, Portugal? A Study on Perceived Effects on Health and Economic Condition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-10, February.
    4. Ferdinando Petrazzuoli & Claire Collins & Esther Van Poel & Athina Tatsioni & Sven Streit & Gazmend Bojaj & Radost Asenova & Kathryn Hoffmann & Jonila Gabrani & Zalika Klemenc-Ketis & Andrée Rochfort , 2023. "Differences between Rural and Urban Practices in the Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Outcomes from the PRICOV-19 Study in 38 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    5. Rasmus Luca Lyager Brønholt & Nina Langer Primdahl & Anja M. B. Jensen & An Verelst & Ilse Derluyn & Morten Skovdal, 2021. "“I Just Want Some Clear Answers”: Challenges and Tactics Adopted by Migrants in Denmark When Accessing Health Risk Information about COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-10, August.
    6. Jialiang Cui & Vanessa Hoi Mei Cheung & Wenjie Huang & Wan Sang Kan, 2022. "Mental Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    7. Ivet Bayes-Marin & Maria Roura-Adserias & Iago Giné-Vázquez & Felipe Villalobos & Marta Franch-Roca & Amanda Lloret-Pineda & Aina Gabarrell-Pascuet & Yuelu He & Rachid El Hafi & Fajar Matloob Ahmed Bu, 2022. "Factors Associated with Depression and Anxiety Symptoms among Migrant Population in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Gaia Sampogna & Maurizio Pompili & Andrea Fiorillo, 2022. "The Short-Term Consequences of COVID-19 on Mental Health: State of the Art from Available Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-5, November.
    9. Tual Sawn Khai & Muhammad Asaduzzaman, 2022. "‘I Doubt Myself and Am Losing Everything I Have since COVID Came’—A Case Study of Mental Health and Coping Strategies among Undocumented Myanmar Migrant Workers in Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    10. Tomasz Michalski & Maciej Brosz & Joanna Stepien & Karolina Biernacka & Michal Blaszczyk & Jakub Grabowski, 2021. "Perceived Stress Levels among Ukrainian Migrant and LGBT+ Minorities in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-16, December.

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