Self-rated health, socio-economic status and post-traumatic stress disorder among couples from refugee backgrounds: findings from the Building a New Life in Australia study

Individuals from refugee backgrounds may experience higher rates of mental and physical health problems compared to the general population, yet the interdependence of these outcomes within couples remains poorly understood.This study aims to understand the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), socio-economic status and self-rated general health amongst couples from refugee backgrounds living in Australia.Couples were nested within dyads using multi-level frameworks and mixed-effects logistic regression (n=436 dyads).In respondents with likely PTSD, 61% of their partners were also likely to have PTSD compared to only 26% of partners in refugees with unlikely PTSD.After controlling for socio-economic factors, respondents with likely PTSD were significantly less likely to rate their health as 'excellent/very good' (OR=0.20),compared to those with unlikely PTSD.Partners with likely PTSD were also less likely to rate their health as 'excellent/very good' (OR=0.54).Individuals who were older, female, born in the Middle East, experienced lower levels of community support or more economic stressors were at greater risk of poorer self-rated general health.PTSD and self-rated general health had an interdependent effect within couples from refugee backgrounds.Familial and psychosocial contexts must be considered when developing health promotion and policies for those from refugee backgrounds.