Zoe Baccam

Mental health care is vital to refugee integration, yet current frameworks often lack the cultural sensitivity needed to address distinct subgroup needs. This limits the understanding of how cultural and experiential factors shape refugees’ mental health and responses to care. Research that predominantly treats refugees as a homogeneous group overlooks these differences, hindering the development of effective, nuanced interventions. Although social connectedness is widely recognized as protective for mental health, prior research often has simplified this to general social support measures, overlooking the unique structure and function of refugees’ social networks. To address these gaps, this pilot study used a community-based participatory approach and egocentric network data to examine social support, social network characteristics, and mental health across six refugee groups—Bhutanese, Burmese, Congolese, Iraqi, Somali, and Syrian—resettled in Arizona, a key U.S. resettlement location. Our sample ( N = 150) was 53.0% male and 47.0% female with an average age of 41.4 years; 31.3% reported no formal education and 44.7% were unemployed. Univariate analyses revealed significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics, social support levels, social network characteristics, and mental health statuses (psychological distress and suicidal thoughts) among refugee subgroups. These findings underscore the need for culturally responsive interventions that encourage cross-cultural engagement, expand community support, and foster diverse networks to support refugee mental health and integration. This study is the first to employ egocentric network data to compare social networks and mental health indicators among Arizona’s refugee subgroups.

The purpose of this scoping review was to ascertain the scope and nature of the literature focused on intimate partner violence (IPV) among Afghans across contexts, including Afghanistan. The scoping review adopted a systematic approach to search for, identify, and include peer-reviewed articles published in English. Fifty-two articles were retained in the final analysis, which generated results on IPV prevalence; multi-level risk and protective factors; qualitatively derived contextual factors; associations of IPV with adverse physical and psychological outcomes; IPV-related help-seeking behaviors; programs and interventions; the role of religion; IPV-related policies; and the role of fiction. Findings indicate that past-year physical IPV prevalence ranged from 52% to 56% in Afghanistan and 79.8% among Afghan refugees displaced in Iran. Studies conducted in Afghanistan identified a range of IPV risk factors occurring at the individual (e.g., age and employment), interpersonal/household (e.g., acceptance of IPV and violence perpetrated by in-laws), and societal levels (e.g., conflict/displacement). The findings highlight a rich literature on IPV in Afghanistan and significant gaps in IPV research across the Afghan diaspora and in contexts of displacement and resettlement. The results advance understanding of the drivers of IPV in the diverse Afghan population and highlight context-specific gaps, and needs for intervention and future research. These gaps indicate the importance of conducting research elucidating how risk and protective factors associated with IPV shift in forced migration and resettlement, and an urgent need for the development and testing of services and programs that respond to the specific needs of Afghan women experiencing IPV across contexts.

This study examines differences in score profiles on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth in a clinical setting. Data were collected from youth receiving services at a gender care clinic in the Midwestern United States. Inclusion criteria were youth that identify as transgender, nonbinary, or another gender-diverse identity label between the ages of 6 and 18 and received services between October 2017 and November 2021. The analytic sample (N = 177) included 51.4% transmasculine, 17.5% transfeminine, 22.6% nonbinary/gender-expansive, and 8.5% questioning youth. 88.1% of youth were White. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared differences in mean T scores when using male versus female scoring templates for YSR and CBCL separately. Statistically significant differences were found on the majority of scales, particularly for TGD adolescents. For example, significant differences were found on the YSR for 10 of 11 scales for transmasculine and transfeminine youth ages 11-18 and 9 of 11 scales for nonbinary/gender-expansive youth. McNemar's test revealed significant differences in the number of clinical range scores for transmasculine YSR respondents on Anxious/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Thought Problems, and Internalizing scales. For CBCL comparison of clinical significance, significant differences were found for Anxious/Depressed, Attention Problems, and Total Problems scales for transmasculine youth ages 12-18. Selecting a scoring template is contextually relevant; however, template selection appears to matter less when examining clinical relevance. Results suggest that clinicians using the CBCL and YSR with TGD youth have flexibility in scoring template selection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: COVID-19 has spread worldwide since late 2019, with an unprecedented case count and death toll globally. Health care personnel (HCP), first responders, and other essential and frontline workers (OEWs) are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection because of frequent close contact with others. Objective: The Arizona Healthcare, Emergency Response, and Other Essential Workers Study (AZ HEROES) aims to examine the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness among adults with high occupational exposure risk. Study objectives include estimating the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in essential workers by symptom presentation and demographic factors, determining independent effects of occupational and community exposures on incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, establishing molecular and immunologic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in essential workers, describing the duration and patterns of real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) positivity, and examining postvaccine immunologic response. Methods: Eligible participants include Arizona residents aged 18 to 85 years who work at least 20 hours per week in an occupation involving regular direct contact (ie, within 3 feet) with others. Recruitment goals are stratified by demographic characteristics (50% aged 40 years or older, 50% women, and 50% Hispanic or American Indian), by occupation (40% HCP, 30% first responders, and 30% OEWs), and by prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (with up to 50% seropositive at baseline). Information on sociodemographics, health and medical history, vaccination status, exposures to individuals with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, use of personal protective equipment, and perceived risks are collected at enrollment and updated through quarterly surveys. Every week, participants complete active surveillance for COVID-like illness (CLI) and self-collect nasal swabs. Additional self-collected nasal swab and saliva specimens are collected in the event of CLI onset. Respiratory specimens are sent to Marshfield Laboratories and tested for SARS-CoV-2 by rRT-PCR assay. CLI symptoms and impact on work and productivity are followed through illness resolution. Serum specimens are collected every 3 months and additional sera are collected following incident rRT-PCR positivity and after each COVID-19 vaccine dose. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections will be calculated by person-weeks at risk and compared by occupation and demographic characteristics as well as by seropositivity status and infection and vaccination history. Results: The AZ HEROES study was funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Enrollment began on July 27, 2020; as of May 1, 2021, a total of 3165 participants have been enrolled in the study. Enrollment is expected to continue through December 1, 2021, with data collection continuing through at least April 2022, contingent upon funding. Conclusions: AZ HEROES is unique in aiming to recruit a diverse sample of essential workers and to prospectively follow strata of SARS-CoV-2 seronegative and seropositive adults. Survey results combined with active surveillance data on exposure, CLI, weekly molecular diagnostic testing, and periodic serology will be used to estimate the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, assess the intensity and durability of immune responses to natural infection and COVID-19 vaccination, and contribute to the evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/28925