Alpysbekova, Aigerim; Cisco, Mia M.; Vo, Duyen H.; Ertanir, Beyhan; Sahbaz, Sumeyra; Montero-Zamora, Pablo; Bautista, Tara; Scaramutti, Carolina; Bartoszak, Magdalena; Nehme, Lea; Duque, Maria; Schwartz, Seth J. (2024). The Effect of the Russian Invasion on Mental, Social, and Behavioral Health Among Ukrainians Living in the United States. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Advance online publication. 10.1037/tra0001770

Text TRA_The_Effect_of_Russian_Invasion_Alpysbekova_et_al._2024.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (406kB) | Request a copy

Objective: The present research examines the disparities among Ukrainians residing in the United States, comparing Ukrainians who migrated before the February 2022 Russian invasion against those who arrived afterward. We compare these two cohorts vis-a-vis anxiety, depressive symptoms, optimism, posttraumatic stress, life satisfaction, family economic stress, cultural stress (discrimination, negative context of reception, and language stress), hazardous alcohol use, and domestic violence perpetration and victimization.
Method: The present sample included 703 Ukrainians (53.63% women) residing in the United States. We conducted a series of multivariate analyses of variance using arrival cohort (pre- vs. postinvasion) and gender (male vs. female) as independent variables. Results: Results indicated that postinvasion participants reported greater internalizing symptoms, cultural/economic stress, and hazardous alcohol use, whereas preinvasion arrivals reported greater levels of optimism and life satisfaction. No significant interactions between cohort and gender emerged for any of the outcomes. Conclusion: Our findings offer valuable insights into the mental health and well-being of displaced Ukrainians within the backdrop of ongoing conflicts. These findings have significant implications for support and intervention efforts not only for Ukrainians but also for other crisis migrant groups.
Our study found that Ukrainians who migrated after the invasion reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms, cultural/economic stress, and alcohol misuse, whereas those who arrived earlier reported higher levels of optimism and life satisfaction. These findings highlight the impact of ongoing wars on the mental health of displaced Ukrainians. In addressing the experiences and needs of crisis migrants globally, research, practice, and policy efforts should attend to the specific types and severity of crisis events that migrants have experienced prior to arriving in their destination countries.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

0 since deposited on 23 Sep 2024
0 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item