Measuring the mediating role of Negative Appraisals between Trauma Exposure and PTSD among Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia; Moderating role of Perceived Social Support

The Rohingyans from Myanmar are stateless people, a severely persecuted minority that has become the largest group of refugees. Thousands of these refugees reside in refugee camps in various countries, including Malaysia. There has been little research into the mental health consequences of persecution, war, and other historical trauma endured by the Rohingyan, nor has the role of daily environmental stressors associated with continued displacement, statelessness, and life in the refugee camps been thoroughly researched. The population of this study was Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. Data was collected via a cross-sectional survey questionnaire, and the scale was adapted from previous studies. After modification, the 10-point rating scale was used to collect participant data. Data was collected from 245 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. Results revealed a high level of mental health concerns among refugees, i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Second-order ranking was used to analyze each scale and causal path analysis via employing CB-SEM in IBM-SPSS-AMOS. Meanwhile, mediation analysis was conducted using the “Process micro” technique. Also, participants endorsed local idioms of distress, which include somatic complaints. The study found that previous exposure to trauma, either as a victim or a witness of trauma, has a significant favorable influence on negative appraisals, which means that trauma exposure induced a high level of negative appraisals linked with the refugee’s life in the camps. Secondly, the study revealed that a high level of daily stressors causes higher levels of PSTD symptoms. Furthermore, negative appraisals fully mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms of refugees at camps in Malaysia. Also, perceived social supports negatively moderate the relationship between negative appraisals and PTSD symptoms; if participants received a high level of perceived support, there would be a lessening of the influence of negative appraisals on Rohingya refugees' PTSD symptoms.