The Impact of COVID-19 Stressors on Refugee Mental Health and Well-Being in the Context of Sustained Displacement

Refugees and asylum seekers in contexts of sustained displacement represent particularly vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to identify profiles of COVID-19 stressors in refugees in a transit context (i.e., Indonesia) and examine the relationship between these profiles of stressors and mental health and well-being. Participants in this study included 913 refugees and asylum seekers living in Indonesia. The study was completed online in five languages (i.e., Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Somali, and English). A latent class analysis was implemented with 12 COVID-19 stressors representing indicator variables to identify profiles of COVID-19-related stressors experienced. Associations between COVID-19 classes and mental health (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety) and well-being (physical and mental) outcomes were investigated. A five-class solution was identified as providing the best fit to the data as follows: (a) a high-COVID stressors class (18.1%), (b) a high access stressors class (13.2%), (c) an infection stressors class (22.7%), (d) a moderate access stressors class (23.1%), and (e) a low-COVID stressors class (22.8%). Membership of all classes reporting at least moderate levels of COVID-19 stressors was associated with greater mental health difficulties and lower physical and mental well-being than the low-COVID stressors class. Results indicated that the severity and type of stressors differed between groups suggesting heterogeneous experiences of the pandemic. Classes also differed according to contextual and social factors such as negative social support, language, and geographic area.