The longitudinal impact of war exposure on psychopathology in Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth

Background: War and natural disasters lead to forced migration – and increased risk of adverse psychological outcomes – in approximately 1% of the global population. Though recent years have brought a greater understanding of the consequences of war exposure on mental health outcomes for refugee children, little is known about the longitudinal and developmental impact of these experiences on youth. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of direct exposure to war and/or combat on trajectories of symptoms related to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth following resettlement. Prevalence of possible anxiety disorders and PTSD was also assessed. Method: Participants included accompanied refugee youth resettled in the state of Michigan in the U.S. ( n = 74). Youth filled out self-report measures of trauma exposure, anxiety symptoms, and PTSD symptoms upon arrival and 2 years later. Linear mixed-effects modeling was used to assess the effect of war exposure over time. Results: Upon arrival, 38% screened positive for an anxiety disorder and 4.1% met diagnostic thresholds for PTSD. While war exposure did not predict changes to PTSD symptom trajectories ( p = .481), anxiety symptoms increased over time among children reporting war exposure ( B = 10.13, SE = 4.22, t = 2.40, p = .019). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that without appropriate interventions, anxiety- and trauma-related symptoms often do not decrease. Further, exposure to war trauma may lead to progressive worsening of symptoms. These findings suggest that assessing for type of trauma exposure, rather than focusing solely on migration status, may inform focused attention and interventions among trauma-exposed children resettling as refugees.