Trauma and mental health in young adults who arrived in France as unaccompanied and separated migrant children.

OBJECTIVES: The mental health of unaccompanied and separated minors (UASC) has been widely studied but not their first years of adulthood, often characterised by uncertainty after leaving child protection. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders using standardised and validated research instruments and examine the effect of exposure to trauma. METHODS: One hundred and ten youth (92.7% male, median age 19.7 [18.1-22.8]) from Chambery, Montpellier and La Rochelle were recruited to a cross-sectional exploratory study. During a face-to-face interview, somatoform disorder, anxiety, and depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (score≥10) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (score≥33). Traumatic life events were assessed using the Life Events Checklist. RESULTS: Of the youth, 19.3% had a probable somatoform disorder, 17.6% anxiety, 28.7% depression, and 20% PTSD. The number of traumatic life events increased the risk of depression (multi-adjusted OR (95%CI): 1.56 (1.25-1.96)), PTSD (1.60 (1.23-2.08)), somatoform disorder (1.41 (1.10-1.82), and anxiety (1.33 (1.02-1.72)). Physical assault was the type of event positively associated with the most disorders (P≤0.01, except for anxiety), followed by witnessing sudden and violent death (P≤0.01 for depression and PTSD) and sexual assault (P=0.002 for PTSD). CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young adults who arrived as UASC and the impact on their mental health of cumulative trauma and exposure to interpersonal and violent traumatic life events. A greater focus on their mental health with regular assessments is needed in order to provide rapid and adapted care.

Association between uncertainty regarding right-to-stay and mental health in unaccompanied and separated migrant children (UASC) reaching adulthood: findings from France.

PURPOSE: There is substantial evidence suggesting high levels of mental health problems in unaccompanied and separated children (UASC). However, there is less focus on the first years of adulthood characterised by increased vulnerability and fear of expulsion. We aimed to describe the mental health of UASC on reaching adulthood, and how this was affected by uncertainty regarding their right-to-stay in France. METHODS: One hundred and ten youth aged 18-22 were recruited via child protection reception centres. We administered the Patient Health Questionnaire somatic (PHQ-15), anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9) modules, the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). Logistic regression analysis was performed with the dependent variable, a secure (versus uncertain) situation, defined as (1) detaining a residence permit and being in school, an apprenticeship or a salaried job, or (2) waiting for residence permit whilst occupying a salaried job. RESULTS: Of the sample, 19.3% reached criteria for a probable somatic disorder, 17.6% for anxiety and 28.7% for depression (score  ≥ 10); 41.8% were in an uncertain situation regarding their right-to-stay. Uncertainty was associated with higher anxiety ((OR per Interquartile range (95% CI), 1.77 (1.05-2.98)) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (2.05 (1.06-4.00)), lower resilience (0.50 (0.27-0.91)), and participants rating their anxiety (p = 0.02) and depressive symptoms (p = 0.003) as more severe since reaching adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest uncertainty regarding right-to-stay is associated with increased mental health symptoms, specifically anxiety and trauma-induced stress, thereby highlighting the vulnerability of UASC in their first years of adulthood. This calls for greater support during this transition period with regular symptom monitoring for timely psychological interventions.

Health Service Utilisation, Detection Rates by Family Practitioners, and Management of Patients with Common Mental Disorders in French Family Practice.

OBJECTIVE: Provide up-to-date detection rates for common mental disorders (CMD) and examine patient service-use since the Preferred Doctor scheme was introduced to France in 2005, with patients encouraged to register with and consult a family practitioner (FP) of their choice. METHODS: Study of 1133 consecutive patients consulting 38 FPs in the Montpellier region, replicating a study performed before the scheme. Patients in the waiting room completed the self-report Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and Client Service-Receipt Inventory with questions on registration with a Preferred Doctor and doctor-shopping. CMD was defined as reaching PHQ criteria for depression, somatoform, panic or anxiety disorder. For each patient, FPs completed a questionnaire capturing psychiatric caseness. RESULTS: 81.2% of patients were seeing their Preferred Doctor on the survey-day. Of those with a CMD, 52.6% were detected by the FP. This increased with CMD severity and comorbidity. Detected cases were more likely to be consulting their Preferred Doctor (84.7% versus 79.4% for non-detected cases, p = 0.05) rather than another FP. They declared more visits to psychiatrists (17.2% versus 6.7%, p = 0.002). There was no association with consultation frequency or doctor-shopping, which both declined between the two studies. CONCLUSION: The CMD detection rate is relatively high, with no increase compared to our previous study, despite a decline in doctor-shopping. An explanation is the same high proportion of patients visiting their usual FP on the survey-day at both periods, suggesting a limited impact of the scheme on care continuity. FP action taken highlights the importance of improving detection for providing care to patients with CMDs.

The clinician-administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) structured interview for PTSD: A French language validation study.

The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) is a structured interview that assesses the frequency and severity of each symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in relation to a single traumatic stressor over a 1-month period, allowing the trained interviewer to infer a current or lifetime diagnosis congruent with the 5th Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the original English language CAPS-5 translated to French. Participants (N = 168) were recruited in clinical settings of France, Lebanon, and Canada. The psychometric properties of the measure were found to be excellent, as good-to-strong interitem consistency was found (α = .90; ITC = .52; ICC = .30), while also finding strong convergent validity between the CAPS-5 total score and the severity score of a self-report PTSD measure (r = .82): the PCL-5. The test-retest reliability was excellent, with Cohen's κ = 1.00 and the intraclass coefficient (ICC) = .95. However, no latent factor structure model was deemed a strong fit to the data. Overall, the reliability and validity of the French CAPS-5 and are consistent with those of the original CAPS-5. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Onset and relapse of psychiatric disorders following early breast cancer: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to evaluate the mental status of primary early breast cancer survivors according to DSM-IV criteria, distinguishing new psychiatric diagnosis, which started after the cancer diagnosis from relapse. METHODS: A comparative study of 144 breast cancer survivors and 125 women without previous history of cancer was carried out. Neuropsychiatric symptomatology was assessed retrospectively using standardized psychiatric examinations (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Watson's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Inventory) over three successive periods, 'before cancer' (from childhood to 3 years before the interview), 'around the cancer event' (the last 3 years including the time of diagnosis and treatment), and 'currently' (the last 2 weeks). RESULTS: Increased rates of anxiety and mood disorders were observed following a diagnosis of breast cancer compared with controls (generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD); 10.4 vs 1.6% and 19.4 vs 8.8%, respectively). The cancer disease promoted the development of dysthymia (n=4 new cases/6 two-year prevalent cases) and PTSD (7/7) and the re-emergence of MDD (n=21 relapses/28 three-year prevalent cases) and GAD (10/15). No improvement in serious mood disorders such as MDD (16.0 vs 7.2%) and dysthymia (4.2 vs 0%) was reported at the time of interview, more than 1.75 years (median time) after the cancer surgery, the prevalence being 2-4 times greater in breast cancer survivors than in controls. CONCLUSION: Despite significant advances in treatment, a diagnosis of breast cancer is highly associated with various forms of psychopathology, regardless of psychiatric history, with symptoms persisting after treatment. These results may assist clinicians in planning mental healthcare for women with breast cancer.

Measuring resilience in adult women using the 10-items Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Role of trauma exposure and anxiety disorders.

PURPOSE: Resilience is the ability of individuals to adapt positively in the face of trauma. Little is known, however, about lifetime factors affecting resilience. METHODS: We assessed the effects of psychiatric disorder and lifetime trauma history on the resilience self-evaluation using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) in a high-risk-women sample. Two hundred and thirty eight community-dwelling women, including 122 participants in a study of breast cancer survivors and 116 participants without previous history of cancer completed the CD-RISC-10. Lifetime psychiatric symptoms were assessed retrospectively using two standardized psychiatric examinations (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Watson's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Inventory). RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age, education, trauma history, cancer, current psychiatric diagnoses, and psychoactive treatment indicated a negative association between current psychiatric disorder and high resilience compared to low resilience level (OR = 0.44, 95% CI [0.21-0.93]). This was related to anxiety and not mood disorder. A positive and independent association with a trauma history was also observed (OR = 3.18, 95% CI [1.44-7.01]). CONCLUSION: Self-evaluation of resilience is influenced by both current anxiety disorder and trauma history. The independent positive association between resilience and trauma exposure may indicate a "vaccination" effect. This finding need to be taken into account in future studies evaluating resilience in general or clinical populations.