Mental health and resilience among Eritrean refugees at arrival and one-year post-registration in Switzerland: a cohort study

Chernet, Afona; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Sydow, Véronique; Paris, Daniel H.; Labhardt, Niklaus D.

doi:10.1186/s13104-021-05695-5

Table 3 Potential factors that may influence the mental health condition and resilience of newly arrived refugees and migrants from Eritrea; conditions reported in one year follow-up (N = 48)

From: Mental health and resilience among Eritrean refugees at arrival and one-year post-registration in Switzerland: a cohort study

Parameters or indicators in follow-up (N = 48)	Responses	N	%
Factors related to self-sustenance
Current status of residence permit (legal status)^‡	B	12	25.0
	F	8	16.7
	N	28	58.3
New residence permit within one year	Yes	9	18.8
New residence permit within one year	No	39	81.3
Working, including unpaid work	Yes	20	41.7
Working, including unpaid work	No	28	58.3
Source of income	Social assistance	46	95.8
Source of income	Partial social assistance	2	4.2
Monthly income: in Swiss Francs (CHF)^¥	< 500.00	26	54.2
	≥ 500 and < 1000	21	43.8
	≥ 1000.00	1	2.1
Factors related to acculturation and settlement in the new host country
Current language competency level (German)	A1	7	14.6
	A2	7	14.6
	B1	14	29.2
	B2	3	6.3
Access to regular local language classes^§	Yes	28	58.3
Access to regular local language classes^§	No	20	41.7
Switzerland as a first choice of destination?	Yes	29	60.4
Switzerland as a first choice of destination?	No	19	39.6
Other first-choice destination country, if applicable	United Kingdom	12	25.0
	Netherlands	3	6.3
	Norway	2	4.2
	Sweden	1	2.1
	No idea	1	2.1
Relative/s in Switzerland	Yes	27	56.3
Relative/s in Switzerland	No	21	43.8
Interaction with Eritrean community in Switzerland ^α	Yes	41	85.4
Interaction with Eritrean community in Switzerland ^α	No	7	14.6
Community contribution in Switzerland ^β	Yes	26	54.2
Community contribution in Switzerland ^β	No	22	45.8
Factors related to pre-arrival in host country
Migration journey duration (from Eritrea to Switzerland): in months	≥ 3 and < 9	24	50.0
	≥ 9 and < 15	10	20.8
	≥ 15 and < 21	7	14.6
	≥ 21 and < 27	4	8.3
	≥ 27	3	6.3
	Median (IQR)^μ	8.5	7.0–16.0
Duration of stay in Transit countries: in months Median and Inter Quartile Range (IQR)^μ	Ethiopia	3	1.5–5.0
	Sudan	5	2.0–9.0
	Libya	2	1.3–3.0
	Italy	0.3	0.0
Detention or prison experience during transit	Yes	18	37.5
Detention or prison experience during transit	No	30	62.5
Imprisonment in transit countries	Egypt	1	2.1
	Ethiopia	4	8.3
	Libya	11	22.9
	Sudan	2	4.2
Experienced death of someone along the migration route^†	Yes	28	58.3
Experienced death of someone along the migration route^†	No	20	41.7

^‡ = Current legal residence status of refugees and migrants; B → Refugee status granted; F → Temporarily admitted; and N → Asylum application in process
^¥ = Monthly income: in Swiss Francs (CHF), for socially assisted immigrants, solely depends on the asylum status condition
^§ = Similar to other benefits from the social system, access to regular local language courses, with few exceptional cases, is claimed to be affected by the asylum status of refugees
^α = Opportunities to have social interactions with compatriot Eritreans, such as social gatherings and hanging out together
^β = Willing to interact with the local population by participating in different activities, such as sports, feasts, and volunteering
^† = Could be a family member, relative, friend, or a travel colleague introduced on the journey
^µ = Figures in italics donate for Inter Quartile Range (IQR) values

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ISSN: 1756-0500

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