Ethiopia ranks among the top five countries with the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) facing complex challenges and adversities. Displacement exposes individuals to severe stressors such as mass trauma, poverty, and disrupted social networks, often resulting in profound mental distress, deteriorating interpersonal relationships, and compromised psychosocial well-being.
This presentation will share insights from our study, which employed Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) and an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore trauma and healing among IDPs. We gathered data from 42 individuals through Focus Group Discussions and in-depth interviews and subsequently analyzed them using template analysis. Our findings reveal nuanced experiences of trauma and pathways to healing within a collectivist cultural context, as shaped by the personal and communal narratives of IDPs.
We discuss key themes, including collective trauma awareness, barriers to mental health resources, and cultural narratives of resilience that aid recovery. This presentation illuminates how cultural ties and community bonds foster resilience and healing, particularly in collectivist societies.
By the end of the session, attendees gained insight into IDPs' lived experiences, enhancing their understanding of how trauma manifests and is addressed within these communities. Our findings underscore the importance of developing culturally responsive, trauma-informed programs that not only treat trauma symptoms but also promote holistic healing and well-being among displaced populations.

Constant stress due to the war in their country, temporary protection status in the host country, and the need to rebuild their lives are significant challenges for many Ukrainian citizens (Ukrainian refugees), causing uncertainty about their future. Many studies emphasise the prevalence of social exclusion and problems with personal well-being among refugees (Khailenko O., Bacon A., 2024, Pouraghajan Sh. et al. 2023, Altinay L. et al. 2023).
This study tests a conceptual model linking social integration, resilience, trust in institutions, coping strategies, and indicators of personal integration. It is hypothesised that social exclusion and institutional distrust negatively affect the integration of Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland. A preliminary study and 2 waves of longitudinal data were obtained from 592 Ukrainianians with temporary protection status. Participants rated the items on the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Coping strategies were measured using 40 items adapted from Brief COPE (Carver, 1989). Multiple-item scales to measure the construct of social exclusion, institution trust, and personal integration (Ager, Strang, 2008) were adapted.
Associations of multiple-item scales of social exclusion with resilience and coping strategies ratings were analyzed applying correlation and factor analysises. Feeling social exclusion was associated with lower levels of resilience and maladaptive coping strategies. We argue that more resilient people may rely on personal sources of support and have lower expectations of assistance from institutions in Switzerland because of using adaptive coping strategies. Understanding this relationship is important for interventions aimed at building trust and resilience among vulnerable groups like refugees.

Background: Prenatal stress is known to have lasting negative effects on children’s development and well-being, while sensitive and attuned maternal behavior serving as a protective factor. However, the long-term effects of prenatal stress on children’s mental health in families experiencing cumulative stressors, and the role of maternal trauma responses as a mediator, remain less understood.
Objective: This study examined the relationship between COVID-19-related prenatal stress, maternal trauma responses during war, and subsequent child emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Methods: A sample of 318 Israeli pregnant women was recruited during the first wave of COVID-19, and prenatal symptoms of depression, anxiety, and COVID-19-related stress were assessed. Participants were followed over four years, with the final assessment conducted during a period of war, when mothers reported their trauma responses (PTRQ) and their children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties (SDQ). Structural equation modeling tested whether maternal trauma responses mediated the link between prenatal mental health symptoms and children’s difficulties during wartime.
Results: Maternal prenatal symptoms of depression, anxiety, and COVID-related stress predicted maladaptive trauma responses, which were associated with heightened emotional and behavioral difficulties in children, supporting a mediating role for maternal trauma responses. Stress related to pregnancy and the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly correlated with war-related overprotective behaviors.
Conclusions: These findings underscore the impact of prenatal stress on maternal responses and child mental health under cumulative stress. Identifying at-risk families based on prenatal symptoms and creating targeted interventions to reduce maladaptive parenting behaviors, could mitigate negative outcomes for children exposed to war-related trauma.

Abstract
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been found in Syrian refugees with prevalence rates ranging from 24% to 52% (e.g. Chung et al., 2017). According to the posttraumatic self hypothesis, trauma can reconfigure a person's inner world, distort their self-concept and self-monitoring abilities (Wilson, 2006). However, there are no studies investigating whether self-defeat and self-fragmentation are related to the posttraumatic stress reactions in these refugees.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelationship between self-defeat, fragmented self, PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity in Syrian refugees.
Methods: Four hundred and ninety-nine Syrian refugees were recruited through a humanitarian organisation in Jordan and completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire-28, the Short Defeat and Entrapment Scale and the Fragmented Self Inventory.
Results: 499 (F=253, M=246) Syrian refugees with an average age of 39 years (mean=38.93, SD=14.73) participated in the study. The majority were married (71%), had completed school up to secondary level (81%), were unemployed (79%) and fled from Syria to Jordan between 2012 and 2013 (86%). The structural equation modelling analysis showed that self-defeat and fragmented self were associated with PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity. Fragmented self mediated the effect of self-defeat on both distress outcomes.
Conclusions: When Syrian refugees feel that they have failed socially and when they struggle to escape their aversive situations, they tend to have a disturbed sense of identity. All of this can contribute to the severity of PTSD and other psychological problems associated with their war experiences in Syria.