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Adaptive performance in refugees after trauma: how relevant are post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth?

Lukasz Stasielowicz (Institute of Psychology, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany)

International Journal of Workplace Health Management

ISSN: 1753-8351

Article publication date: 26 August 2022

Issue publication date: 11 October 2022

227

Abstract

Purpose

Wars can lead to massive migration waves, e.g. the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011 led to the European refugee crisis. Discussions about labour integration often accompany huge spikes in asylum applications. Since many refugees experience traumatic events, such as torture, health problems must be considered in the work context. Unfortunately, the relevance of the post-traumatic experiences of refugees to specific job performance facets has mainly been ignored. To close the research gap, a study with refugees living in Germany was conducted to examine to what extent trauma-related variables are relevant to performance variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The relationship between post-traumatic stress (PTS), post-traumatic growth (PTG) and adaptive performance (social and task-oriented adaptive performance) was examined as, nowadays, many activities require dealing with changes (e.g. new colleagues, new technologies). Sixty-nine people met the inclusion criteria (e.g. refugee status, traumatic experiences) and completed the survey. Data were analysed using the Bayesian approach.

Findings

Bayesian analyses revealed that PTG might promote both social and task-oriented adaptive performance. In contrast, PTS was negatively related to task-oriented adaptive performance. Furthermore, there was no substantial evidence that PTG moderates the relationship between PTS and adaptive performance. Furthermore, there is preliminary evidence that refugees do not differ substantially from the general population with respect to social adaptive performance.

Originality/value

The present study demonstrates for the first time the relevance of post-traumatic experiences to the adaptive performance of refugees.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Lea von Atens for her help with data collection. Furthermore, the author is grateful to Rawan Alsaker and Waheed Alsaker for help with translations. The acknowledgments do not imply that the mentioned people endorse the views presented in the current manuscript. The author remains solely responsible for the views expressed in the present study.

Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Disclosure of interest: The author reports no conflict of interest. Data availability: Data, R code and output are available at https://osf.io/9gyjz/.

Citation

Stasielowicz, L. (2022), "Adaptive performance in refugees after trauma: how relevant are post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth?", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 711-727. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-12-2021-0230

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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