Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture on a chosen topic – time and place
Trial Lecture on a chosen topic.
Trial Lecture on a given topic – time and place
Trial lecture on a given topic.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Philip Hyland, Maynooth University, Ireland
- Second opponent: Clinical Research Associate Professor Jessica Mariana Carlsson Lohmann, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Suraj Thapa, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Kåre Moen, University of Oslo
Summary
The aggregate load of past trauma history and stressors in the post-migration environment renders refugees vulnerable to psychological distress which may undermine quality of life, impede daily functioning and adversely impact integration. In Norway, there is currently a clear lack of systematic and robust evidence on the mental health of newly arrived refugees despite political ambitions to address this limitation.
The thesis attempts to fill this void. Specifically, the aim is to contribute with methodologically robust evidence on the burden of mental ill health in different refugee populations in Norway and Sweden, as well as identify important risk and protective factors thereof. Important findings from the studies comprising the thesis include:
Resettled refugees have a high burden of mental ill health (i.e. PTSD, depression and anxiety) and chronic pain, and there is a strong link between the two. Personnel working with refugees’ health should be attuned to their co-occurrence as both problems may need to be addressed for either to be effectively mitigated.
The cumulative exposure to potentially traumatic experiences before and during flight is a strong risk factor for mental ill health in general, and PTSD in particular.
Female gender was found to be an independent risk factor of mental ill health. In addition, gender seemed to modify the association between certain post-migration stressors—social strain in particular, but also financial strain—and subjective well-being, with no association seen in women but a strong negative association in men.
Overall, the thesis lends scientific support to the increased focus on mental health in government strategic objectives and policies in Norway. Further longitudinal research is needed to explore long-term trajectories of mental health, what constitute reliable predictors of these trajectories and how mental health impact integration processes in refugees.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.