COMPOUNDING OF PREMIGRATION TRAUMA AND POSTMIGRATION STRESS IN ASYLUMSEEKERS

Unauthorized immigrants arriving in Western countries increasingly are being subjected to stringent restrictions while their residency claim s are assessed. The present study was an investigation of premigration exposure to organized violence and post-migration stressors in 40 ind ividuals seeking asylum who were attending a community welfare center in Sydney, Australia. Almost 80% reported exposure to premigration tra uma such as witnessing murders, having their lives threatened, being s eparated from family members, and brainwashing; 25% had been tortured. Asylum seekers reported a marked decline in socioeconomic status. Com mon ongoing sources of severe stress included fears of being repatriat ed, barriers to work and social services, separation from family, and issues related to the process of pursuing refugee claims. More than on e third had problems obtaining health services in Australia-the same n umber who reported similar difficulties in their home countries. Altho ugh based on a selective and culturally heterogeneous sample, the resu lts suggest that salient aspects of the asylum-seeking process may com pound the stressors suffered by an already traumatized group.