Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Social Isolation among North Korean Refugee Women in South Korea: The Moderating Role of Formal and Informal Support

Wonjung Ryu and Sun Won Park
Additional contact information
Wonjung Ryu: School of Social Welfare, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Sun Won Park: Social Welfare Policy, Yonsei University Graduate School, Seoul 03722, Korea

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: While there is abundant literature on the positive correlation between refugee post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social isolation, few studies have examined the moderating effects of formal and informal interpersonal support. This study on 154 refugee women from North Korea examines the moderating effects of formal and informal interpersonal support on the relationship between PTSD and social isolation. Data from the 2012 survey of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in South Korea Study on Support for Independent Living Tailored to North Korean Refugee Women Exposed to Violence were included in the present study. The study results confirmed the positive correlation between PTSD and social isolation and verified the protective effects of formal support. These findings will contribute to policy changes and early proactive interventions to reduce the social isolation of North Korean refugee women in South Korea.

Keywords: North Korean refugee women; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); formal support; informal support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/4/1246/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/4/1246/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1246-:d:141926

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().