ABSTRACT

Background and objectives

People often disappear in the context of displacement or armed conflicts. Although such an ambiguous loss is accompanied by persistent uncertainty about the whereabouts, the psychological consequences are not well understood. This study investigated the effects of ambiguous compared to a confirmed loss on prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and its correlates in refugees to Germany.

Methods and design

We investigated data on mental health outcomes of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan who had applied for/were granted asylum in Germany. In a secondary analysis, we compared 87 refugees with disappeared (n = 33) and deceased relatives (n = 54) who had completed questionnaire-based interviews.

Results

Participants with ambiguous loss displayed more severe symptoms of PGD than those with confirmed loss. However, we found no group differences in terms of probable disorder rates and the number of traumatic experiences. Even after controlling for several correlates of PGD, higher PGD symptom severity was associated with ambiguous loss, more PTSD symptoms and low perceived social support.

Conclusions

These results show a higher prolonged grief symptom severity after the loss of a significant other due to disappearance, indicating that this type of loss could be a specific risk factor for PGD severity.

中文翻译：

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生活在德国的难民面临模棱两可或确认的损失，长期悲痛

摘要

背景和目标

人们经常在流离失所或武装冲突的情况下消失。尽管这种模棱两可的损失伴随着对下落的持续不确定性，但其心理后果尚不清楚。这项研究调查了模棱两可的影响与确认的损失对长期悲伤障碍 (PGD) 的影响及其对德国难民的相关性。

方法和设计

我们调查了在德国申请/获得庇护的叙利亚、伊拉克、伊朗和阿富汗难民的心理健康结果数据。在二次分析中，我们比较了完成问卷调查的87 名失踪难民 ( n  = 33) 和已故亲属 ( n  = 54)。

结果

与确认丢失的参与者相比，丢失模糊的参与者表现出更严重的 PGD 症状。然而，我们发现在可能的疾病发生率和创伤经历的数量方面没有群体差异。即使在控制了 PGD 的几个相关因素之后，较高的 PGD 症状严重程度与模棱两可的丧失、更多的 PTSD 症状和低感知社会支持相关。

结论

这些结果表明，在因失踪而失去重要其他人后，悲伤症状的严重程度更高，表明这种类型的损失可能是 PGD 严重程度的特定风险因素。