Posttraumatic Growth and Psychopathological Symptoms As Predictors in the Integration of North Korean Adolescent Refugees: Latent Profile Analysis

Objective: This study is to explore identifiable psychological differences and predictors for the subgroup of refugees who at a very early age moved from a totalitarian country to a westernized democracy, ultimately to improve policies and reduce the maladaptation of refugees to a new society. More specifically, it is to fill in significant gaps in understanding and predicting refugee tendencies toward depression, social withdrawal, aggression, and posttraumatic growth.

Method: Latent class analysis was conducted to identify subgroups based on symptom profiles within a sample of 201 North Korean adolescent refugees residing in South Korea.

Results: Four subgroups were identified: (a) High growth, (b) Low trauma with high adaptive aggression, (c) Low trauma with high social withdrawal/depression, and (d) High trauma with high comorbidity. Predictors were physical health, self-esteem, peer support, teacher support, and school adjustment.

Conclusion: Current refugee policies in South Korea would benefit from refining services to allow customization to the specific needs and characteristics of each adolescent rather than continue the current model of homogeneity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).