ENGLISH SUMMARY Reeta Kankaanpää & Niko Eskelinen & Csilla Veszteg & Janet Anand & Tomi Mäki-Opas & Marja Vaarama & Samuli Neuvonen: Factors explaining quality of life among adult refugees in the early stages of resettlement (Varhaisessa kotoutumisen vaiheessa olevien pakolaistaustaisten aikuisten elämänlaatua selittävät tekijät)

Refugees are exposed to harmful living conditions, trauma and various stress factors and to changing social relations before, during and after migration. These circumstances and factors can influence their perceived quality of life (QoL). However, the pathways of these circumstances and factors are still largely unknown.

The aim of this study was to examine the pathways from socioeconomic factors, trauma experiences, posttraumatic stress symptoms and loneliness to perceived quality of life. The data consisted of 210 adult refugees recently resettled in Eastern Finland. Data on health and well-being and several background factors were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which was professionally translated into Arabic and Farsi-Dari. QoL was measured using 24 items of the WHOQOLBREF scale that covers physical, psychological, social and environmental QoL. Structural equation modelling with suitable model fit indexes were applied using MPLUS 8.

Loneliness and post-traumatic stress symptoms were negatively associated with physical, psychological, social and environmental QoL. Female refugees had lower physical and psychological QoL, and increased age decreased their physical QoL. Living in a relationship and good education increased QoL, downplaying the negative effects of loneliness and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The negative association of trauma experience was mediated to QoL through loneliness and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Sufficient income was positively associated with psychological, social and environmental QoL. All the previous factors explained 19 to 35 per cent of the variance in the four dimensions of QoL among refugees. To promote QoL among adult refugees, social, financial and psychological help and support should be offered to those suffering from posttraumatic stress and loneliness. It is also necessary to offer refugees appropriate support for the use of their many skills and other positive resources, for their own benefit and for the benefit of society as a whole.

Keywords: refugees, quality of life, loneliness, post-traumatic stress symptoms, structural equation modelling.