Exploring Social and Financial Hardship, Mental Health Problems and the Role of Social Support in Asylum Seekers Using Structural Equation Modelling
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Measures
2.1.1. Social and Financial Hardship
2.1.2. Common Mental Health Problems (CMHPs)
2.1.3. Social Support
2.1.4. Sociodemographic Variables
2.2. Statistical Analysis
2.2.1. Structural Equation Modelling
2.2.2. Measurement Models
2.2.3. Full Structural Model
3. Results
3.1. SEM Analysis Step 1: Measurement Models
3.2. SEM Analysis Step Two: Full Structural Model
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristics | n | % |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Women | 122 | 26.8 |
Men | 333 | 73.2 |
Age groups | ||
18–30 | 269 | 59.1 |
31–64 | 186 | 40.9 |
Educational level | ||
<9 years | 261 | 57.4 |
9–12 years | 101 | 22.2 |
>12 years | 74 | 16.3 |
Missing | 19 | 4.2 |
Cohabitation/Family situation | ||
Living with a partner | 119 | 26.2 |
Not living with a partner | 261 | 57.4 |
Divorced/widow | 37 | 8.1 |
Missing | 38 | 8.4 |
Country of origin | ||
Afghanistan | 154 | 33.8 |
Eritrea | 45 | 9.9 |
Iraq | 38 | 8.4 |
Somalia | 64 | 14.1 |
Syria | 145 | 31.9 |
Stateless | 9 | 2.0 |
n | Mean | Variance | Min | Max | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Social and financial hardship 1 | |||||
Perceived discrimination | |||||
Discrimination by Swedish authorities | 426 | 1.96 | 1.83 | 1 | 5 |
Discrimination in school or at work | 403 | 1.62 | 1.19 | 1 | 5 |
Feeling disrespected due to my national background | 413 | 1.93 | 1.80 | 1 | 5 |
People making racist remarks towards me | 418 | 1.74 | 1.14 | 1 | 5 |
Material and economic strain | |||||
Being unable to buy necessities | 428 | 2.68 | 2.24 | 1 | 5 |
Worry about unstable financial situation | 426 | 3.50 | 2.07 | 1 | 5 |
Frustration for not being able to support myself financially | 423 | 3.52 | 2.21 | 1 | 5 |
Worry about debts | 408 | 2.73 | 2.75 | 1 | 5 |
Social strain | |||||
Feeling excluded or isolated in the Swedish society | 421 | 3.04 | 2.54 | 1 | 5 |
Frustration due to loss of status in the Swedish society | 418 | 2.73 | 2.45 | 1 | 5 |
Frustration because I am not able to make use of my competences in Sweden | 422 | 3.48 | 2.29 | 1 | 5 |
Social support (ESSI) 2 | |||||
Is there someone available to whom you can count on to listen to you when you need to talk? | 429 | 2.58 | 2.14 | 1 | 5 |
Is there someone available to you to give good advice about a problem? | 427 | 2.44 | 2.05 | 1 | 5 |
Is there someone available to you who shows you love and affection? | 419 | 2.84 | 2.44 | 1 | 5 |
Is there someone available to help with daily chores | 421 | 2.28 | 2.11 | 1 | 5 |
Can you count on anyone to provide you with emotional support (talking over problems or helping you make a difficult decision)? | 420 | 2.36 | 2.13 | 1 | 5 |
Do you have as much contact as you would like with someone you feel close to, someone in whom you can trust and confide in? | 424 | 2.70 | 2.16 | 1 | 5 |
Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) 3 | |||||
Anxiety | 395 | 2.07 | 0.80 | ||
Depression | 395 | 2.29 | 0.81 |
Model | χ2 | df | p | CFI | RMSEA (90% CI) | SRMR | ΔS-Bχ2 | ∆df | p |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Social support (ESSI): | |||||||||
Model A: Unidimensional | 42.58 | 9 | <0.001 | 0.967 | 0.092 (0.066–0.121) | 0.024 | |||
Model B: Respecified unidimensional a | 10.89 | 8 | 0.208 | 0.997 | 0.029 (0.00–0.067) | 0.012 | |||
Model B vs. A | 26.18 | 1 | <0.001 | ||||||
Social and financial hardship: | |||||||||
Model A: First-order 3-factorial | 89.71 | 41 | <0.001 | 0.963 | 0.054 (0.039–0.069) | 0.039 | |||
Model B: Second-order 3-factorial b | 90.23 | 42 | <0.001 | 0.964 | 0.053 (0.038–0.068) | 0.037 | |||
Model B vs. A | 0.833 | 1 | 0.361 |
Unstandardized Estimate | BC 95% CI | |
---|---|---|
Direct effect: | ||
Social and financial hardship → CMHPs | 0.786 | 0.598–1.021 |
Indirect effect: | ||
Social and financial hardship → social support → CMHPs | 0.075 | 0.032–0.136 |
Total effect: | ||
Direct effect + Indirect effect | 0.860 | 0.665–1.122 |
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Sengoelge, M.; Solberg, Ø.; Nissen, A.; Saboonchi, F. Exploring Social and Financial Hardship, Mental Health Problems and the Role of Social Support in Asylum Seekers Using Structural Equation Modelling. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196948
Sengoelge M, Solberg Ø, Nissen A, Saboonchi F. Exploring Social and Financial Hardship, Mental Health Problems and the Role of Social Support in Asylum Seekers Using Structural Equation Modelling. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(19):6948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196948
Chicago/Turabian StyleSengoelge, Mathilde, Øivind Solberg, Alexander Nissen, and Fredrik Saboonchi. 2020. "Exploring Social and Financial Hardship, Mental Health Problems and the Role of Social Support in Asylum Seekers Using Structural Equation Modelling" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 19: 6948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196948