Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study
Background Immigration detention is associated with detrimental mental health outcomes but little is known about the underlying psychological processes. Moral injury, the experience of transgression of moral beliefs, may play an important role. Objective Our aim was to explore moral injury appraisal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-07-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2029042 |
| _version_ | 1797895803979694080 |
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| author | Sandra Passardi Debbie C Hocking Naser Morina Suresh Sundram Eva Alisic |
| author_facet | Sandra Passardi Debbie C Hocking Naser Morina Suresh Sundram Eva Alisic |
| author_sort | Sandra Passardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Immigration detention is associated with detrimental mental health outcomes but little is known about the underlying psychological processes. Moral injury, the experience of transgression of moral beliefs, may play an important role. Objective Our aim was to explore moral injury appraisals and associated mental health outcomes related to immigration detention on Nauru. Methods In this retrospective study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 13 individuals who had sought refuge in Australia and, due to arriving by boat, had been transferred to immigration detention on Nauru. At the time of the study, they lived in Australia following medical transfer. We used reflexive thematic analysis to develop themes from the data. Results Major themes included 1) how participants’ home country experience and the expectation to get protection led them to seek safety in Australia; 2) how they experienced deprivation, lack of agency, violence, and dehumanization after arrival, with the Australian government seen as the driving force behind these experiences; and 3) how these experiences led to feeling irreparably damaged. The participant statement ‘In my country they torture your body but in Australia they kill your mind.’ conveyed these three key themes in our analysis. Conclusion Our findings suggest that moral injury may be one of the processes by which mandatory immigration detention can cause harm. Although refugees returned to Australia from offshore detention may benefit from interventions that specifically target moral injury, collective steps are needed to diminish deterioration of refugee mental health. Our results highlight the potentially deleterious mental health impact of experiencing multiple subtle and substantial transgressions of one’s moral frameworks. Policy makers should incorporate moral injury considerations to prevent eroding refugee mental health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:31:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb17e1b58d364fb3b87a5439ab882110 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:31:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb17e1b58d364fb3b87a5439ab8821102023-02-23T15:58:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662022-07-0113110.1080/20008198.2022.20290422029042Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative studySandra Passardi0Debbie C Hocking1Naser Morina2Suresh Sundram3Eva Alisic4University Hospital of Zurich, University of ZurichMonash UniversityUniversity Hospital of Zurich, University of ZurichMonash UniversityThe University of MelbourneBackground Immigration detention is associated with detrimental mental health outcomes but little is known about the underlying psychological processes. Moral injury, the experience of transgression of moral beliefs, may play an important role. Objective Our aim was to explore moral injury appraisals and associated mental health outcomes related to immigration detention on Nauru. Methods In this retrospective study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 13 individuals who had sought refuge in Australia and, due to arriving by boat, had been transferred to immigration detention on Nauru. At the time of the study, they lived in Australia following medical transfer. We used reflexive thematic analysis to develop themes from the data. Results Major themes included 1) how participants’ home country experience and the expectation to get protection led them to seek safety in Australia; 2) how they experienced deprivation, lack of agency, violence, and dehumanization after arrival, with the Australian government seen as the driving force behind these experiences; and 3) how these experiences led to feeling irreparably damaged. The participant statement ‘In my country they torture your body but in Australia they kill your mind.’ conveyed these three key themes in our analysis. Conclusion Our findings suggest that moral injury may be one of the processes by which mandatory immigration detention can cause harm. Although refugees returned to Australia from offshore detention may benefit from interventions that specifically target moral injury, collective steps are needed to diminish deterioration of refugee mental health. Our results highlight the potentially deleterious mental health impact of experiencing multiple subtle and substantial transgressions of one’s moral frameworks. Policy makers should incorporate moral injury considerations to prevent eroding refugee mental health.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2029042moral injurypost-migration living difficultiesimmigration detentionasylum seekerrefugee mental healthnauru |
| spellingShingle | Sandra Passardi Debbie C Hocking Naser Morina Suresh Sundram Eva Alisic Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study European Journal of Psychotraumatology moral injury post-migration living difficulties immigration detention asylum seeker refugee mental health nauru |
| title | Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Moral injury related to immigration detention on Nauru: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | moral injury related to immigration detention on nauru a qualitative study |
| topic | moral injury post-migration living difficulties immigration detention asylum seeker refugee mental health nauru |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2029042 |
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