ArticleBMC public health2025
Post-migration stress mediates associations between potentially traumatic peri-migration experiences and mental health among Middle Eastern refugees in Germany.
Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms and Suicide Risk among Syrian Refugees: The Mediating Role of Anxiety Sensitivity.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Article
- PROTOCOL: The Impact of Long Asylum Application Processing Time on Asylum Seekers and Refugees' Mental Health and Social Functioning: A Systematic Review.Campbell systematic reviews · 2026Review
- Extending the ecological model of distress to social functioning among refugees and asylum-seekers.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2026Article
- 'A labyrinth with no way out'-the conceptualization of mental distress among Arabic-speaking refugee youth: a qualitative study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Concern about the possibility of being a victim of extortion and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress in Peruvian adults: a model of structural equations.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Self-Perception of Children and Adolescents' Refugees with Trauma: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of the Literature.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOn their way to host countries, refugees are often exposed to severe adversity, including cumulative experiences of fraud, extortion, robbery, detention, and shipwrecks, as well as prolonged, life-threatening small boat crossings. However, little research has examined the long-term impact of such peri-migration stressors on subsequent stress and mental health after arrival. This study explored how cumulative exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and small boat crossings before arrival affected psychological distress in Middle Eastern refugees, considering the mediating role of post-migration stress in the years following resettlement in Germany.
methodsLongitudinal data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees collected at three survey waves (2016, 2018, and 2020; N = 541, Mage = 38.77, 14% female) were analyzed using a causal mediation approach with linear mixed models. Self-reports of cumulative exposure to PTEs and small boat crossings in the Mediterranean indicated peri-migration stressors, while perceived discrimination and migration-related worries reflected post-migration stress. Psychological distress was assessed using a general health questionnaire.
resultsPTEs were significantly associated with higher migration-related worries (β = 0.10, p < .001). Migration-related worries significantly mediated the association between PTEs and psychological distress (ACME = 0.02, 95% CI [0.01, 0.04], p < .001; ADE = 0.07, 95% CI [0.03, 0.11], p < .001). In contrast, perceived discrimination did not mediate this link. However, small boat crossings were significantly associated with higher perceived discrimination (β = 0.11, p < .001), which in turn mediated their association with psychological distress (ACME = 0.05, 95% CI [0.02, 0.08], p < .001), while the direct effect was non-significant. These indirect effects intensified over time.
conclusionsPeri-migration stressors may contribute to long-term mental health issues in refugees via their post-migration stress experiences. However, these mediation pathways may differ, underscoring the need for nuance and further investigation. Addressing both early traumatic experiences and post-migration adversities, such as discrimination and migration-related worries, is crucial to mitigating refugees’ long-term psychological distress. These findings highlight the importance of early prevention and intervention efforts that address post-migration stress as a key factor in reducing the long-term mental health burden among refugees.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.