Trauma exposure, social functioning, and common mental health disorders in Somali refugee male and female youth: An SEM analysis

Background: Refugee youth often face numerous adversities before and during forced migration. Although experiences vary across settings and subpopulations, common mental disorders are prevalent among refugee youth who are displaced in low- and middle-income countries. It is important to examine how risk factors are intricately linked and contribute to common mental health issues to inform clinical practice and social policy. Aims: This study aims to test the pathways from risk factors previously identified as determinants of Somali refugee youth mental health (i.e. trauma exposure, substance use, social functioning, aggression) to symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and somatic pains. Method: We collected survey data in 2013, using snowball sampling to recruit Somali refugee youth (15–35 years old) living in Eastleigh, Kenya. We ran three structural equation models to assess paths from trauma exposure to mental health symptoms, through psychosocial factors including substance use, aggression, and functional impairment. We first conducted this analysis with a mixed-gender sample ( N = 305) and then assessed gender differences by running one model for male participants ( n = 124) and another for female participants ( n = 181). Results: In the mixed-gender sample, trauma exposure directly predicted substance use and both directly and indirectly predicted aggression, functional impairment, and mental health symptoms. Substance use directly predicted aggression and functional impairment, and substance use both directly and indirectly predicted mental health symptoms. The split-gender models revealed gender differences, with only functional impairment directly predicting mental health symptoms in the male sample and with many significant direct and indirect pathways in the female sample. Conclusions: This study shows the role of trauma exposure, substance use, aggression, and social functioning in determining mental health outcomes among refugee youth and how CMD symptoms are differently manifested across genders in this population.