The British Journal of Psychiatry (2010) 196: 122-125. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.059139
© 2010 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Data supplement
Right arrow A correction has been published
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in BJP
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vaage, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by Hauff, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Vaage, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by Hauff, E.

Long-term mental health of Vietnamese refugees in the aftermath of trauma

Aina Basilier Vaage, MD

Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Bergen, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway

Per Hove Thomsen, MD, PhD

Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Bergen, Norway

Derrick Silove, FRANZCP, MD

Psychiatry Research and Teaching Unit, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, and Centre for Population Mental Health Research, Sydney South West Area Health Service, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Tore Wentzel-Larsen, MSc

Centre for Clinical Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

Thong Van Ta

International House Foundation, Stavanger, Norway

Edvard Hauff, MD, PhD

Institute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, and Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål Department of Psychiatry, Oslo, Norway

Correspondence: Correspondence: Dr Aina Basilier Vaage, BUPA, SUS, Box 8100, 4068 Stavanger, Norway. Email: aina.b.vaage{at}lyse.net

Declaration of interest

None.

Background

There is no long-term prospective study (>20 years) of the mental health of any refugee group.

Aims

To investigate the long-term course and predictors of psychological distress among Vietnamese refugees in Norway.

Method

Eighty Vietnamese refugees, 57% of the original cohort previously interviewed in 1982 (T1) and 1985 (T2), completed a self-report questionnaire prior to a semi-structured interview. Mental health was measured using the Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL–90–R).

Results

The SCL–90–R mean Global Severity Index (GSI) decreased significantly from T1 to T3 (2005–6), but there was no significant change in the percentage reaching threshold scores (GSI =1.00). Trauma-related mental disorder on arrival and the trajectory of symptoms over the first 3 years of resettlement predicted mental health after 23 years.

Conclusions

Although the self-reported psychological distress decreased significantly over time, a substantial higher proportion of the refugee group still remained reaching threshold scores after 23 years of resettlement compared with the Norwegian population. The data suggest that refugees reaching threshold scores on measures such as the SCL–90–R soon after arrival warrant comprehensive clinical assessment.


Related articles in BJP:

Highlights of this issue
Kimberlie Dean
BJP 2010 196: A6. [Full Text]