TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2007//
TI  - Asylum seekers seeking mental health services in the United States: clinical and legal implications
JO  - Journal of nervous and mental disease
A1  - Piwowarczyk, Linda
SP  - 715
EP  - 722
VL  - 195
IS  - 9
N2  - Asylum seekers flee their countries in search of safety due to persecution at home. Characteristics were assessed of 134 consecutive asylum seekers who sought mental health services at a program caring for survivors of torture and refugee trauma, using a chart review of patients seen between January 1999 and December 2002. Two-thirds of the sample were female, and 82% came from Africa. Eighty-four percent of the sample reported a history of torture, and one-half experienced rape or attempted rape. Most common diagnoses included posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. Predictors of torture included: posttraumatic stress disorder [odds ratio (OR) = 4.93, p = 0.03], rape (OR = 4.23, p = 0.035), and political persecution (OR = 9.28, p = 0.006). Most common self-reported health problems were headaches (29.9%), sexual dysfunction (26.1%), chronic pain (12.7%), and gastrointestinal symptoms (11.2%).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-3018
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e318142ca0b
ID  - ref1
ER  -