Trauma-Associated Psychiatric Disorders Among South Sudanese Dinka and Nuer Women Resettled in the USA

It is well documented that war trauma inflicts serious damage on the mental health of populations affected. Despite having experienced near constant conflict for more than six decades, the paucity of studies assessing the prevalence of trauma-associated disorders among adult South Sudanese resettled in the USA, numbering over 30,000, is concerning. This study was designed to contribute to the literature on the mental health of this group of resettled refugees. The sample consisted of 76 Dinka and Nuer women in Nebraska and Tennessee. On average, participants experienced 9.8 traumatic events during the war, ranging from one to seventeen. Approximately 40%, 29%, and 26% of the women scored above threshold for diagnosis of current anxiety, depression, and PTSD, respectively. Factors including advanced age, i.e., >35 years old, (aOR = 4.76; 95% CI 1.29, 17.51), having elementary education or less (aOR = 6.21; 1.19, 32.27), and middle to secondary education (aOR = 5.65; 1.13, 28.19) were associated with scoring above threshold for diagnosis of current anxiety. By contrast, being divorced/widowed/separated and having annual household income over $40,000 were associated with 88% and 86% reduction in odds of meeting diagnostic threshold for depression, respectively. This study identifies high level of traumatization among a group of Dinka and Nuer women during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). Consequently, there are high rates of trauma-associated psychiatric disorders in this sample. More research is needed in this community to gain better understanding of risk and protective factors for trauma-associated psychiatric disorders.