Understanding the mechanisms of transgenerational mental health impacts in refugees

The trauma experienced by refugees has transgenerational mental health impacts.1,2 A study by Richard Bryant and colleagues3 in The Lancet Public Health provides evidence about the specific mechanisms by which these impacts might occur. Bryant and colleagues3 studied more than 400 families who had come to Australia as refugees, primarily from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. They investigated the associations between exposure to trauma, parental post-traumatic stress disorder, parenting style, and children’s psychological difficulties. They used path analyses to investigate direct and mediating effects over time. Around a quarter of parents met criteria for likely post-traumatic stress disorder, and children of those parents experienced increased psychological distress. These effects were mediated by harsh parenting style and post-migration stressors. The study provides one of the largest prospective studies of refugee families, and is one of the first studies to investigate the mediating effects of parenting style