Refugee Stigma and Its Association with Depression Symptom Severity
Date
2022-09-16Author
Ronald, Bahati
Herbert Elvis, Ainamani
Scholastic, Ashaba
Cathy Denise, Sigmund
Godfrey Zari, Rukundo
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Introduction: Refugees in urban areas often face acculturation challenges,
stigma, and stereotypes that impact their mental well-being. The aim of the
present study was to examine the prevalence of stigma and its association
with depressive symptoms among urban refugees living in Mbarara city,
southwestern Uganda. Methods: This cross-sectional study used snowball
sampling and interviewed 343 refugees residing in Mbarara city, southwes tern Uganda. The Discrimination and Stigma Scale was used to assess stigma,
whereas the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to screen for
depression symptoms severity. Linear regression models determined the as sociations between stigma and depression symptoms severity. Data were col lected between June 2019 and March 2020. Findings: Of the 343 participants,
198 were males and 145 were females; their mean age was 28.8 years (SD =
11.0). Most of the participants (95.3%) had attained formal education. Our
findings show that 84% (n = 288) of the participants had symptoms of stigma.
Stigma had a statistically significant positive association with depressive
symptoms severity (b = 0.11; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.15). Age had statistically sig nificant positive association with depression symptoms severity (b = 0.08;
95% CI, 0.02 to 0.14). Education level had a statistically significant negative
association with depressive symptoms severity (b = −0.53; 95% CI, −0.97 to
−0.09). Conclusions: Urban refugees experience high levels of both stigma and depression. Interventions aimed at reducing stigma could subsequently
reduce depression among refugees living in urban areas.