Links between ethnic discrimination, mental health, protective factors, and hair cortisol concentrations in asylum seekers living in Germany.

Asylum seekers often experience ethnic discrimination on the flight or in the host country, which may be associated with chronic stress and impaired mental health. Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, a known physiological correlate of chronic stress, can be assessed using hair cortisol concentrations (HCC). The present study aimed to investigate how different forms of perceived ethnic discrimination are associated with mental health outcomes, HCC, and protective factors in asylum seekers living in Germany.

How is music listening purpose related to stress recovery? - two preliminary studies in men and women.

Introduction: Studies have suggested that listening to music can reduce psychological and biological responses to a stressor. However, it is unclear whether music has the same effect on stress recovery. According to field studies, people commonly use music in daily life for the specific purpose of relaxation.

Recent developments on psychological factors in medically unexplained symptoms and somatoform disorders.

Somatic symptoms which are not fully explained by a medical condition (medically unexplained symptoms) have a high relevance for the public health. They are very common both in the general population and in patients in health care, and may develop into chronic impairing conditions such as somatoform disorders. In recent years, the relevance of specific negative psychological factors for the diagnosis and the stability of somatoform disorders and for the impairment by medically unexplained symptoms gained more and more attention.

Reporting Cultural Adaptation in Psychological Trials - The RECAPT criteria.

Background: There is a lack of empirical evidence on the level of cultural adaptation required for psychological interventions developed in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies to be effective for the treatment of common mental disorders among culturally and ethnically diverse groups. This lack of evidence is partly due to insufficient documentation of cultural adaptation in psychological trials. Standardised documentation is needed in order to enhance empirical and meta-analytic evidence.

Description of a Culture-Sensitive, Low-Threshold Psychoeducation Intervention for Asylum Seekers (Tea Garden).

Background: Asylum seekers often suffer from high levels of mental distress. However, as a result of a lack of knowledge about mental health and health care, as well as cultural and language barriers, the utilization of mental health care in Western host countries is often difficult for these individuals. Reducing these barriers may thus be a crucial first step towards appropriate mental health care.

Engaging Turkish Immigrants in Psychotherapy: Development and Proof-of-Concept Study of a Culture-Tailored, Web-Based Intervention.

Background: Culturally tailored interventions can increase the engagement and the success rate of psychotherapy in immigrant and ethnic minority patients. In this regard, the integration of the patients' illness beliefs is a key element. Applying principles of Motivational and Ethnographic Interviewing, we developed a culture-tailored, web-based intervention to facilitate engagement of Turkish immigrant inpatients in psychotherapy.

Culturally adapted cognitive behavioural group therapy for mental disorders in refugees plus problem solving training (ReTreat): study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Since a high proportion of refugees in Germany suffer from mental disorders, culturally adapted treatments are needed that target a broad range of symptoms. There is much evidence for the efficacy of culturally adapted cognitive behavioural therapy (CA-CBT). Given the promising results of CA-CBT, the combination with problem solving training (CA-CBT+) represents a novel approach that potentially improves the refugees' ability to cope actively with psychosocial problems.

Does childhood trauma impact daily psychobiological stress in somatic symptom disorder? An ambulatory assessment study.

Objectives: Somatic symptom disorder is characterized by excessive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors dedicated to bodily symptoms, which are often medically unexplained. Although 13% of the population are affected by this disorder, its aetiopathogenesis is not fully understood. Research in medically unexplained conditions (e.

Relations between criteria for somatic symptom disorder and quality of life in asylum seekers living in Germany.

Objective: Asylum seekers often suffer from medically unexplained symptoms that affect their quality of life (QoL). The present study is the first to investigate the extent to which somatic symptoms and the B criteria for the DSM-5 somatic symptom disorder (SSD) are associated with the QoL of asylum seekers living in Germany.

Methods: In 144 asylum seekers, somatic symptoms (PHQ-15), B criteria for SSD, symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PDS), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), post-migration living difficulties (PMLD), and QoL (EUROHIS) were assessed cross-sectionally.

Psychobiological effects of chronic ethnic discrimination in Turkish immigrants: Stress responses to standardized face-to-face discrimination in the laboratory.

Objective: Ethnic discrimination negatively affects the health of ethnic minorities. The dysregulation of psychobiological stress systems, such as the autonomic nervous system (ANS) or the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, might be an intermediary in this association and chronicity of ethnic discrimination may matter. We studied stress responses to a standardized discriminatory event in Turkish immigrants living in Austria.

Coping with Trauma and Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Exploring Intentions and Lay Beliefs about Appropriate Strategies among Asylum-Seeking Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in Germany.

Asylum-seekers are at high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to frequent exposure to trauma. We investigated the coping intentions and lay beliefs about appropriate coping strategies among asylum-seekers from Sub-Saharan Africa in Germany. The study applied a methodological triangulation strategy with a vignette describing symptoms of PTSD.

Brief imagery rescripting vs. usual care and treatment advice in refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder: study protocol for a multi-center randomized-controlled trial.

: Many refugees have experienced multiple traumatic events in their country of origin and/or during flight. Trauma-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD (CPTSD) are prevalent in this population, which highlights the need for accessible and effective treatment. Imagery Rescripting (ImRs), an imagery-based treatment that does not use formal exposure and that has received growing interest as an innovative treatment for PTSD, appears to be a promising approach.

Hair cortisol levels in women with medically unexplained symptoms.

Stress has been demonstrated to be involved in the development of medically unexplained symptoms. A key underlying mechanism could be lower levels of cortisol, which can contribute to symptoms such as fatigue or pain. However, the literature is highly equivocal, which may be due to methodological limitations inherent in short-term cortisol assessment.

The effects of music listening on somatic symptoms and stress markers in the everyday life of women with somatic complaints and depression.

Despite a growing body of literature documenting the health-beneficial effects of music, empirical research on the effects of music listening in individuals with psychosomatic disorders is scarce. Using an ambulatory assessment design, we tested whether music listening predicts changes in somatic symptoms, subjective, and biological stress levels, and examined potential mediating processes, in the everyday life of 58 women (M = 27.7 years) with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and depressive disorders (DEP).

Efficacy of a Low-threshold, Culturally-Sensitive Group Psychoeducation Programme for Asylum Seekers (LoPe): study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Despite high levels of mental distress, accessing psychological treatment is difficult for asylum seekers in Western host countries due to a lack of knowledge about mental disorders, and the health system, as well as due to cultural and language barriers. This study aims to investigate whether brief culturally sensitive and transdiagnostic psychoeducation is effective in increasing mental health literacy.

Methods And Analysis: The study is a parallel two-group randomised controlled trial with 1:1 individual allocation to either culturally sensitive, low-threshold psychoeducation ('Tea Garden' (TG)) or a waitlist (WL) control group.

Effects of chronic ethnic discrimination in the daily life of Turkish immigrants living in Austria: study protocol of a 30-day ambulatory assessment study.

Introduction: Chronic ethnic discrimination is associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes in ethnic minority groups. It is assumed that suffering from repeated discriminatory events leads, over time, to psychological consequences such as higher perceived stress, higher negative affect and lower positive affect. Higher stress reactivity to non-discriminatory stressors, such as daily hassles, as well as anticipation and avoidance behaviour regarding discriminatory events, may further contribute to the overall burden for affected individuals.

Psychobiological Mechanisms in Somatic Symptom Disorder and Depressive Disorders: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Approach.

Objective: Persistent somatic symptoms cause strong impairment in persons with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and depressive disorders (DDs). Specific negative psychological factors (NPFs), such as catastrophizing, negative affectivity, and behavioral avoidance, are assumed to contribute to this impairment and may maintain symptoms via dysregulations of biological stress systems. We examined the associations between NPF and somatic symptoms in the daily life of women with SSD or DD and investigated the mediating role of psychobiological stress responses.

Gay men's stress response to a general and a specific social stressor.

Gay men show altered psychobiological stress responses and exhibit a higher prevalence of mental disorders than their heterosexual counterparts. Both of these findings are likely due to gay-specific discrimination. Since it has not yet been determined whether gay-specific stress is more noxious than general stress, we tested whether gay men react more strongly to gay-specific socially stressful stimuli than to general socially stressful stimuli.

Differential associations between fatigue and psychobiological stress measures in women with depression and women with somatic symptom disorder.

Objective: Medically unexplained fatigue is a burdensome, widespread symptom, and a frequent complaint in depressive disorders (DDs) as well as somatic symptom disorder (SSD). Heightened stress levels are a likely cause of fatigue, although the temporal associations, as well as the role of the stress-reactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, are not yet completely understood. We were interested in the differences between DD and SSD regarding general, mental, and physical fatigue, as well as associations between psychobiological stress measures (representing different time frames) and fatigue in these groups.

Relational Spirituality and Transgenerational Obligations: The Role of Family in Lay Explanatory Models of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Male Cameroonian Asylum Seekers and Undocumented Migrants in Europe.

Diasporic Cameroonians are increasingly leading a transnational life in which family members are sustained through networks of relations and obligations. However, before arriving in Europe, the vast majority of African migrants who take the Mediterranean route are exposed to trauma and hardship. Moreover, the joint occurrence of forced displacement, trauma, and extended separation from families has a significant impact on mental health.

What Mediates the Relationship Between Ethnic Discrimination and Stress? Coping Strategies and Perceived Social Support of Russian Immigrants in Germany.

Objective: Experiences of ethnic discrimination may constitute major stressors for ethnic minority groups. This study examined the associations between different forms of ethnic discrimination and levels of perceived stress in Russian immigrants living in Germany, taking into account potential moderating (in-group identification) and mediating (coping and social support) factors.

Methods: Russian immigrants ( = 308) were assessed using online questionnaires (e.

Definition and Characteristics of Behavioral Medicine, and Main Tasks and Goals of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine-an International Delphi Study.

Background: In the past decades, behavioral medicine has attained global recognition. Due to its global reach, a critical need has emerged to consider whether the original definition of behavioral medicine is still valid, comprehensive, and inclusive, and to reconsider the main tasks and goals of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine (ISBM), as the umbrella organization in the field. The purpose of the present study was to (i) update the definition and scope of behavioral medicine and its defining characteristics; and (ii) develop a proposal on ISBM's main tasks and goals.

Is depression comparable between asylum seekers and native Germans? An investigation of measurement invariance of the PHQ-9.

Background: Asylum seekers show high prevalence of depressive disorders compared to native populations. For the assessment of depression, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a widely used instrument that has shown high validity and reliability. However, it is largely unknown whether PHQ-9 scores are comparable between asylum seekers living in Western countries and native populations, and whether results can be interpreted without reservation.