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Cited by 653Migration, Health and TraumaMigration and Exile StudiesPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

The mental health of civilians displaced by armed conflict: an ecological model of refugee distress

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Miller, K. E., Rasmussen, A.·2017·Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
DOI 10.1017/s2045796016000172PMC PMC6998767
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Abstract

Early research on the mental health of civilians displaced by armed conflict focused primarily on the direct effects of exposure to war-related violence and loss. Largely overlooked in this war exposure model were the powerful effects of ongoing stressors related to the experience of displacement itself. An ecological model of refugee distress is proposed, drawing on research demonstrating that mental health among refugees and asylum seekers stems not only from prior war exposure, but also from a host of ongoing stressors in their social ecology, or displacement-related stressors. Implications of this model for addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of refugees and other displaced populations are considered.

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  • Where mental ill health intersects with its known drivers (such as poverty and poor living standards, gender-based violence, discrimination based on sexuality, gender identity, and ethnicity), and where there is trauma from colonisation, displacement, and violations of human rights, opportunities for power are even more diminished.

    “Where mental ill health intersects with its known drivers (such as poverty and poor living standards, gender-based violence, discrimination based on sexuality, gender identity, and ethnicity), and where there is trauma from colonisation, displacement, and violations of human rights, 491-496 opportunities for power are even more diminished.”

    From The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health (2024) · cites this paper as [493]

    The Abstract links refugees’ mental health to poverty, lack of basic resources, discrimination, family violence and displacement. “A broader approach to improving refugees’ mental health” says refugees have limited control over several displacement-related stressors. The paper does not establish the broader claim about diminished opportunities for power where mental ill health intersects with discrimination based on sexuality, gender identity or ethnicity, or with trauma from colonisation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Miller, K. E., & Rasmussen, A.
Affiliations
  • War Child (NL)
  • Fordham University (US)
Corresponding author
Miller, K. E.
ORCID
Venue
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2016-04-04
Volume
26
Issue
2
Pages
129-138
ISSN
  • 2045-7960 (ISSN-L)
  • 2045-7979
DOI
10.1017/s2045796016000172
PMC
PMC6998767
OpenAlex
W2443602544
Cited by
653
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 97 · 2025: 80 · 2024: 91 · 2023: 79 · 2022: 99 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 87 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 1
FWCI
30.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Exile Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Keywords
refugee mental health, armed conflict, ecological model, war exposure, asylum seekers, psychosocial needs, social ecology
MeSH terms
War Exposure, Armed Conflicts, Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Mental Health, Refugees, Social Environment, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Stress, Psychological, Violence, Warfare

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