Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress in Unaccompanied Young Refugees During Their Flight: A Longitudinal Cross-Country Study

Background: Unaccompanied young refugees (UYRs) constitute an especially vulnerable population who report high rates of trauma and mental health problems. There is a significant gap in the literature on trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in UYRs who are still on the move and live in precarious circumstances such as refugee camps. This study therefore aimed at investigating pre- and peri-migration trauma of UYRs, longitudinal trajectories of PTSD, and the impact of gender, trauma, and daily stressors on PTSD over time. Methods: This longitudinal, mixed-method, and multi-country study was conducted in various settings (e.g. refugee camps) across nine European countries. A representative and heterogeneous sample of N = 187 UYRs (78.4% male) from 29 different countries was assessed via interviews at 3 time-points during a period of 27 months. Data was analyzed via growth curve modelling.Results: Prevalence rates of traumatic experiences ranged between 29.5-91.9%. PTSD scores were high but significantly decreased over time (b = -0.98; p = .004). Females reported higher PTSD compared with males at baseline (p = .002), but gender did not influence the longitudinal trajectory of PTSD. Pre-migration trauma had a significant effect on PTSD at baseline (b = 0.48; p = .042). More daily stressors resulted in higher PTSD across time (b = 0.13-0.26; p ≤ .001). Conclusions: The number of traumatic events pre- and peri- migration, daily stressors and PTSD in this heterogeneous sample are to say the least alarming. Humanitarian and political assistance is urgently needed to curb the oftentimes life-threatening conditions UYRs face during their migration.

Experience of Vulnerable Women Narrated through the Body-Mapping Technique

Vulnerable women are considered a priority in public policies and research agendas. It is necessary to understand better the specificities of their daily lives and the meanings they attribute to their experiences, as this undoubtedly contributes to more grounded and culturally appropriate practices. Additionally, innovative techniques in qualitative research are demanded in academia. This narrative research study was carried out with fourteen women from a Brazilian socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhood. We used the body-mapping technique to investigate the experiences of women with mental health disorders or psychosocial distress. The aim was to analyze the self-perception about daily stressors and discuss the feasibility of this technique to facilitate this group’s storytelling. Data collection was performed through focus groups, guided by the body-mapping technique steps, and supplemented with individual interviews. Interpersonal conflicts and violence were the main stressors. These strongly impacted the well-being of these women and their children. Some important personal qualities and resilience were identified. Body-mapping played a fundamental role in facilitating storytelling. It amplified the linguistic possibilities for participants to express their feelings and promoted reflections about the present, past, and glimpses into the future.

Advancing the Study of Resilience to Daily Stressors

Historically, studies of childhood and adult resilience have typically focused on adaptation to chronic life adversities, such as poverty and maltreatment, or isolated and potentially traumatic events, such bereavement and serious illness. Here, we present a complementary view, suggesting that stressors experienced in daily life may also forecast individual health and well-being. We argue that daily process approaches that incorporate intensive sampling of individuals in natural settings can provide powerful insights into unfolding adaptational processes. In making this argument, we review studies that link within-person dynamics with diverse health-related phenomena. Findings from this research provide support for a multiple-levels-analysis perspective that embraces greater unity in pivotal resilience constructs invoked across childhood and adult literatures. Drawing on insights and principles derived from life-span theory, we conclude by outlining promising directions for future work and considering their broader implications for the field of resilience.

Walking It Off: More Stressors and Perceived Stressor Control Predict More Physical Activity in Daily Life

Research shows that, while the experience of stress relates to lower levels of physical activity (PA), people who perceive a greater sense of control engage in higher levels of PA. This study explores whether a sense of control specifically over stressful situations moderates the negative association between stressor exposure and PA in daily life. We used 8-day diary data from up to 1,236 participants (Age: Range = 43-91, M = 62.47, SD = 10.20) in the National Study of Daily Experiences. Somewhat contrary to hypotheses, people reported spending more time on light PA (but not moderate-to-vigorous PA) on days when they also experienced more stressors than usual. Perceived stressor control appears to magnify this effect, with people reporting even more light PA on days when they feel greater control. Initial findings suggest that a physically active lifestyle may help middle-aged and older adults cope with daily stressors.

Age-Related Change in the Daily Stressor Reactivity Across 20 Years of Adulthood

Affective reactivity to everyday stressful events has been shown to be an important predictor of poor mental and physical health. The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in daily stress across 30 years of adulthood as a critical first step for understanding aging-related trends in daily stress. We used data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) to calculate exposure and reactivity to daily stressors collected during telephone interviews over the course of 8 consecutive days. These daily assessment bursts were conducted in 1997, 2007, and 2018. Data were comprised of 33,931 daily interviews from 2,880 adults ages 25-74 at the first burst. Results indicated decreased stressor reactivity over time but this decrease was greater for younger adults. Discussion will focus on how examining change in daily stress processes is critical for illuminating stress and health.

Affect Reactivity to Daily Stressors Mediates the Relationship Between Personality Traits and Physical Health

Researchers hypothesize that how people react to daily stressful events partly explains the personality-health relationship, yet no study has examined longitudinal associations between these factors. The current study examined the role of negative affect reactivity to daily stressors as a mediating pathway between personality and physical health outcomes using three waves of data spanning 20-years from a nationwide probability sample of 1,176 adults. Results indicate that Wave 1 neuroticism was associated with greater negative affect reactivity at Wave 2, which then predicted the development of chronic conditions and functional limitations at Wave 3. Higher conscientiousness was associated with less negative affect reactivity, which in turn predicted better physical health at Wave 3. Negative affect reactivity partially mediated both personality traits and physical. These findings highlight the usefulness of using a daily stress framework for understanding how personality impacts health over time, which has important implications for disease prevention.

The Daily Challenges of Caring for Grandchildren: A Daily Analysis of Emotional and Physical Reactivity to Stressors

Grandparents are increasingly providing extensive and custodial care for their grandchildren. Many factors have contributed to a societal rise in caregiving among grandparents, including addiction, incarceration, dual-income families, and the cost of childcare. Past work has highlighted positive effects of grandparenting (e.g. reduced dementia risk); however, research is limited that examines the day to day challenges grandparent caregivers experience. The goal of this research was to examine daily experiences of stressors, positive events, physical symptoms, and daily mood of grandparent caregivers. Participants (n=18 grandparent caregivers) filled out a diary survey for five consecutive days that measured daily stressors and positive events. A total of 90 diaries were completed. Stressors were reported on 97.6% of days. Multilevel analysis examining emotional and physical reactivity to daily events showed that, controlling for age and gender, on days when participants reported more stressors than average, they reported higher negative affect (p=.019), lower positive affect (p=.003) and more physical symptoms (p=.002). Positive events were not significantly associated with daily mood or daily physical symptoms. Overall, the findings supported the hypothesis that grandparent caregivers experience emotional and physical reactivity to the daily challenges they experience. Future research should examine resources and supports to reduce the impact of daily stressors, as well as the particular challenges among underrepresented groups, particularly Black and Latino grandparents, who provide disproportionate levels of care for their grandchildren. The current study highlights the potential vulnerability and daily needs for support among grandparents who provide regular and custodial care for their grandchildren.

Linking Emotion Regulation Capacity and the Frequency of Daily Stressors in Old and Very Old Age

Lifespan theories and lab-based research both suggest that the ability to downregulate negative emotions is often well preserved into old age, but becomes increasingly fragile in very old age. However, little is known about factors that may alleviate such age differences. Here, we ask whether exposure to daily stressors helps very old adults to maintain effective emotion regulation skills. We used data from 130 young-old (65-69 years, 48% women) and 59 very-old adults (83-89 years, 58% women) who watched negative emotion evoking film clips in the lab under emotion regulation instructions and also reported stress situations they experienced in everyday life (42 occasions across seven days). Initial results indicate that very-old adults were indeed less successful in regulating sadness than young-old adults, but those very-old adults who reported many daily stressful situations were as capable of emotion regulation as young-old adults. We discuss possible factors contributing to our age-differential findings.