Top

Gepubliceerd in:

01-02-2013 | Original Article

Personality and Psychopathology in African Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: Repression, Resilience and Vulnerability

Auteurs: Julia Huemer, Sabine Völkl-Kernstock, Niranjan Karnik, Katherine G. Denny, Elisabeth Granditsch, Michaela Mitterer, Keith Humphreys, Belinda Plattner, Max Friedrich, Richard J. Shaw, Hans Steiner

Gepubliceerd in: Child Psychiatry & Human Development | Uitgave 1/2013

Abstract

Examining personality and psychopathological symptoms among unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), we measured intra-individual dimensions (repression and correlates thereof) usually associated with resilience. Forty-one URMs completed the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory (WAI), assessing personality, and the Youth Self-Report (YSR), describing current symptoms. URMs endorsed high levels of Repressive Defensiveness, Denial of Distress, and Restraint; unexpectedly, URMs reported high Distress and reduced Happiness (WAI, p’s < 0.05). Although YSR symptoms were below clinical cut points, there were notable correlations between Distress and Attention Problems, Self-destructive, and Aggressive Behavior (all on the YSR), correcting for multiple comparisons (p’s < 0.004). URMs exposed to non-normative stressors reported non-symptomatic outcomes, and high levels of personality dimensions correlating with resilience. However, URMs also endorsed high Distress and low Happiness, calling their resilience into question. Positive correlations between WAI Distress and YSR symptom subscales suggest that URMs harbor vulnerabilities of clinical and forensic significance.

vorige artikel Emerging Adults’ Stress and Health: The Role of Parent Behaviors and Cognitions

volgende artikel Interpersonal and Affective Dimensions of Psychopathic Traits in Adolescents: Development and Validation of a Self-Report Instrument

Depression in the WAI is not comparable to the clinical construct of depression, but rather is a subscale of the WAI describing aspects of adjustment, which are represented by internalizing behavior and negative emotionality.

Southwick SM, Vythilingam M, Charney DS (2005) The psychobiology of depression and resilience to stress: implications for prevention and treatment. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 1:255–291PubMedCrossRef

Yehuda R, Flory JD, Southwick S, Charney DS (2006) Developing an agenda for translational studies of resilience and vulnerability following trauma exposure. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1071:379–396PubMedCrossRef

Werner EE, Smith RS (1982) Vulnerable but invincible: a longitudinal study of resilient children and youth. McGraw-Hill, New York

Betancourt TS, Khan KT (2008) The mental health of children affected by armed conflict: protective processes and pathways to resilience. Int Rev Psychiatry 20(3):317–328PubMedCrossRef

Klasen F, Oettingen G, Daniels J, Post M, Hoyer C, Adam H (2010) Posttraumatic resilience in former Ugandan child soldiers. Child Dev 81(4):1096–1113PubMedCrossRef

Cauffman E, Feldman SS, Waterman J, Steiner H (1998) Posttraumatic stress disorder among female juvenile offenders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 37:1209–1216PubMedCrossRef

Steiner H, Garcia IG, Matthews Z (1997) Posttraumatic stress disorder in incarcerated juvenile delinquents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:357–365PubMedCrossRef

Erickson SJ, Gerstle M, Montague EQ (2008) Repressive adaptive style and self-reported psychological functioning in adolescent cancer survivors. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 39(3):247–260PubMedCrossRef

Gardner TW, Dishion TJ, Connell AM (2008) Adolescent self-regulation as resilience: resistance to antisocial behavior within the deviant peer context. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36:273–284PubMedCrossRef

10.

Lengua LJ (2002) The contribution of emotionality and self-regulation to the understanding of children’s response to multiple risk. Child Dev 73:144–161PubMedCrossRef

11.

Buckner JC, Mezzacappa E, Beardslee WR (2003) Characteristics of resilient youths living in poverty: the role of self-regulatory processes. Dev Psychopathol 15:139–162PubMedCrossRef

12.

Alim TN, Feder A, Graves RE, Wang Y, Weaver J, Westphal M et al (2008) Trauma, resilience, and recovery in a high-risk African-American population. Am J Psychiatry 165:1566–1575PubMedCrossRef

13.

Steiner H, Feldman SS (1995) Two approaches to the measurement of adaptive style: comparison of normal, psychosomatically ill, and delinquent adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 34:180–190PubMedCrossRef

14.

Mancini AD, Bonanno GA (2009) Predictors and parameters of resilience to loss: toward an individual differences model. J Pers 77(6):1805–1832PubMedCrossRef

15.

Bonanno GA (2004) Loss, trauma, and human resilience: have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? Am Psychol 59(1):20–28PubMedCrossRef

16.

Masten AS (2004) Regulatory processes, risk, and resilience in adolescent development. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1021:310–319PubMedCrossRef

17.

Bonanno GA, Keltner D (1997) Facial expressions of emotion and the course of conjugal bereavement. J Abnorm Psychol 106:126–137PubMedCrossRef

18.

Bonanno GA, Wortman CB, Nesse RM (2004) Prospective patterns of resilience and maladjustment during widowhood. Psychol Aging 19:260–271PubMedCrossRef

19.

Tugade MM, Fredrickson BL (2004) Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. J Pers Social Psychol 86:320–333CrossRef

20.

Weinberger DA, Schwartz GE, Davidson RJ (1979) Low-anxious, high-anxious, and repressive coping styles: psychometric patterns and behavioral and physiological responses to stress. J Abnorm Psychol 88(4):369–380PubMedCrossRef

21.

Steiner H, Araujo KB, Koopman C (2001) The response evaluation measure (REM-71): a new instrument for the measurement of defenses in adults and adolescents. Am J Psychiatry 158(3):467–473PubMedCrossRef

22.

Coifman KG, Bonanno GA, Ray RD, Gross JJ (2007) Does repressive coping promote resilience? Affective–autonomic response discrepancy during bereavement. J Pers Social Psychol 92:745–758CrossRef

23.

Ginzburg K, Solomon Z, Bleich A (2002) Repres- sive coping style, acute stress disorder, and post- traumatic stress disorder after myocardial infarction. Psychosom Med 64:748–757PubMedCrossRef

24.

Smeets T, Giesbrecht T, Raymaekers L, Shaw J, Merckelbach H (2010) Autobiographical integration of trauma memories and repressive coping predict post-traumatic stress symptoms in undergraduate students. Clin Psychol Psychother 17(3):211–218PubMed

25.

Berntsen D, Rubin DC (2007) When a trauma becomes a key to identity: enhanced integration of trauma memories predicts posttraumatic stress dis- order symptoms. Appl Cognit Psychol 21:417–431CrossRef

26.

King AC, Taylor CB, Albright CA, Haskell WL (1990) The relationship between repressive and defensive coping styles and blood pressure responses in healthy, middle-aged men and women. J Psychosom Res 34(4):461–471PubMedCrossRef

27.

Coifman KG, Bonanno GA (2010) When distress does not become depression: emotion context sensitivity and adjustment to bereavement. J Abnorm Psychol 119(3):479–490PubMedCrossRef

28.

Erickson SJ, Gerstle M, Montague EQ (2008) Repressive adaptive style and self-reported psychological functioning in adolescent cancer survivors. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 39(3):247–260PubMedCrossRef

29.

Myers LB (2010) The importance of the repressive coping style: findings from 30 years of research. Anxiety Stress Coping 23(1):3–17PubMedCrossRef

30.

UNHCR (2009) Refugee children: guidelines on protection and care, Geneva, 1994. www.unhcr.org. Accessed: June 2010

31.

Huemer J, Karnik NS, Vöelkl-Kernstock S, Granditsch E, Plattner B, Friedrich MH, Steiner H (2011) Psychopathology in African unaccompanied refugee minors in Austria. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 42(3):307–319PubMedCrossRef

32.

Vöelkl-Kernstock S, Huemer J, Granditsch E, Schrott A, Karnik N, Steiner H, Friedrich M (2012) Responses to conflict, family loss and flight: posttraumatic stress disorder among unaccompanied refugee minors from Africa

33.

Copeland WE, Keeler G, Angold A, Costello EJ (2007) Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in childhood. Arch Gen Psychiatry 64(5):577–584PubMedCrossRef

34.

Huemer J, Karnik NS, Vöelkl-Kernstock S, Granditsch E, Dervic K, Friedrich MH, Steiner H (2009) Mental health issues in unaccompanied refugee minors. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 3(1):13PubMedCrossRef

35.

Smid GE, Lensvelt-Mulders GJ, Knipscheer JW, Gersons BP, Kleber RJ (2011) Late-onset PTSD in unaccompanied refugee minors: exploring the predictive utility of depression and anxiety symptoms. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 40(5):742–755PubMedCrossRef

36.

37.

Weinberger DA, Kohler M, Garner EH, Steiner H (1997) Distress and self restraint as measures of adjustment across the life span: confirmatory factory analyses in clinical and nonclinical samples. Psychol Assess 9:132–135CrossRef

38.

Khanzode L, Saxena K, Kraemer H, Chang K, Steiner H (2006) Efficacy profiles of psychopharmacology: divalproex sodium in conduct disorder. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 37:55–64PubMedCrossRef

39.

Feldman SS, Araujo KB, Steiner H (1996) Defense mechanisms in adolescents as a function of age, sex, and mental health status. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 35(10):1344–1354PubMedCrossRef

40.

Huckaby WJ, Kohler M, Garner EH, Steiner H (1998) A comparison between the Weinberger adjustment inventory and the minnesota multiphasic personality inventory with incarcerated adolescent males. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 28:273–285PubMedCrossRef

41.

Steiner H, Cauffman E, Duxbury E (1999) Personality traits in juvenile delinquents: relation to criminal behavior and recidivism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 38(3):256–262PubMedCrossRef

42.

Araujo K, Ryst E, Steiner H (1999) Adolescent defense style and life stressors. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 30(1):19–28PubMed

43.

Achenbach TM, Rescorla LA (Ed) (2001) Manual for the ASEBA Preschool Forms & Profiles. University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Burlington, VT

44.

ASEBA (2012) Achenbach system of empirically based assessment. http://www.aseba.org/. Accessed: January 2012

45.

Gross JJ, John OP (2003) Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol 85(2):348–362PubMedCrossRef

46.

Steiner H, Silverman M, Karnik NS, Huemer J, Plattner B, Clark CE, Blair JR, Haapanen R (2011) Psychopathology, trauma and delinquency: subtypes of aggression and their relevance for understanding young offenders. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 29(5):21CrossRef

Titel: Personality and Psychopathology in African Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: Repression, Resilience and Vulnerability
Auteurs: Julia Huemer
Sabine Völkl-Kernstock
Niranjan Karnik
Katherine G. Denny
Elisabeth Granditsch
Michaela Mitterer
Keith Humphreys
Belinda Plattner
Max Friedrich
Richard J. Shaw
Hans Steiner
Publicatiedatum: 01-02-2013
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Child Psychiatry & Human Development / Uitgave 1/2013
Print ISSN: 0009-398X
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3327
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0308-z

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 1/2013

Depressive Symptoms Among Children and Adolescents in Iran: A Confirmatory Factor Analytic Study of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children

Trends in Risk and Protective Factors for Child Bullying Perpetration in the United States

Interpersonal and Affective Dimensions of Psychopathic Traits in Adolescents: Development and Validation of a Self-Report Instrument

Nighttime Fears and Fantasy–Reality Differentiation in Preschool Children

Dismissing Children’s Perceptions of Their Emotional Experience and Parental Care: Preliminary Evidence of Positive Bias

Emerging Adults’ Stress and Health: The Role of Parent Behaviors and Cognitions