Sara Pascal
Fleeing from Self and Other: A Constructivist Self-Development Theory Examination of Dual-Identity Refugees and International Aid Workers
Chair: Thomas Demaria, Ph.D.
Abstract
There is a vital need to understand the mental health and provide psychological support for those working with and exposed to trauma. Limited empirical research exists on the mental health of the majority of the world’s refugees who live in unstable developing nations and those aiding them. Using the foundations of constructivist self-development theory (CSDT), the mental health of aid workers who worked with refugees in Cairo, Egypt, was examined with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised (HTQ-R) and the Trauma Attachment Belief Scale (TABS). An analysis of the cognitive schemas and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for aid workers who did (n=28) and did not (n=49) share the refugee identify of their clients indicated that the refugee group of aid workers endorsed significantly more symptoms of PTSD than the non-refugee group, yet significantly less overall disruptions in trauma-related beliefs than the nonrefugee group. Similarities were found for both groups in the relationship between these trauma-related beliefs in the areas of self- and other-intimacy, control and the severity of symptoms of PTSD. Specifically for refugees there was a strong relationship of traumarelated beliefs in self-safety and other-trust with PTSD. For the non-refugee group there was a moderately strong relationship between the domains of other-safety and selfesteem with PTSD. Implications of these findings for future work with refugee aid workers are presented.