The burden of childhood trauma among migrants in psychotherapy treatment in Germany.

BACKGROUND

While there is empirical evidence that migrants often have traumatic experiences before, during and after migration, little is known to date about the extent to which they were affected by childhood trauma in their country of origin.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate experiences of abuse and neglect in the childhood of adult migrants undergoing psychotherapy in Germany.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

A total of 106 patients undergoing day clinic treatment at a psychosomatic clinic participated in the study. Half of them had their own migration experience, while the other half, serving as a comparison group, consisted of German patients.

METHODS

The severity of trauma symptoms, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms was assessed using scales for self-report and for rating by the patients' therapists. The self-report scales were presented in several languages. Evidence of trauma was retrospectively assessed by the therapists using checklists for traumatic experiences in both adulthood and childhood.

RESULTS

The migrant group scored higher on all psychopathology scales and showed more frequent evidence of lifetime trauma than the comparison group. Regarding childhood trauma, emotional abuse and neglect were prevalent in both groups, while physical abuse and neglect, as well as sexual abuse, were more common in the migrant group. Logistic regressions showed that membership in the migrant group was the strongest predictor of physical abuse and neglect, while sexual abuse was more strongly associated with sociodemographic factors.

CONCLUSIONS

In psychotherapy for patients with a migration background, all subtypes of childhood trauma should be considered.