Zainab Hosseini

All Publications

• Caring for the mental health of Afghan refugee youth through a decolonial paradigm: A qualitative analysis of distress, coping mechanisms, and priorities for treatment. American journal of community psychology Hosseini, Z., Alucozai, D., Ahmad, S., Omid, M., Khatib, Z., Mansouri, M., Awaad, R. 2025

  Abstract

  Despite the compounded adversities that displaced youth must navigate throughout their forced migration, they consistently exhibit steadfastness in caring for themselves and their families. Extant scholarship, however, often frames these individuals as needy and inept at informing the models of mental health care they are offered. In this study, we use semistructured interviews to learn from the experiences of Afghan refugee youth (N=34; M age=19; range 18-24) who were resettled in the United States after the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021 and explore their insights that can inform decolonial and equitable mental health services. Specifically, we elucidate their most salient sources of psychological distress, current coping mechanisms, and priorities for treatment, with a specific focus on the unique experiences of accompanied versus unaccompanied youth. Unaccompanied youth reported more frequent and intense sources of distress, including pre-resettlement (e.g., exposure to life-threatening sociopolitical conflicts) and post-resettlement challenges (e.g., limited access to basic resources and legal status precarity). Youth used faith-based, relationship-based, and ethnocultural-based mechanisms of coping. While 62% of participants reported doubts about the usefulness of mental health care, most of those who expressed an openness to treatment prioritized clinicians who have personal experience in navigating common challenges among refugees. We situate these findings within decolonial and intersectional theoretical frameworks that capture the nuances of Afghan refugee experiences and offer recommendations for ensuring refugee youth's rights to access equitable mental health services.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ajcp.12785

  View details for PubMedID 39838863

• Home, School, and Community-based Services for Forcibly Displaced Youth and Their Families. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America Hosseini, Z., Motamedi, M. 2024; 33 (4): 677-692

  Abstract

  Forced displacement can expose youth to unimaginable levels of traumatic life events. We discuss how home-based, school-based, and community-based services can be strategically situated to address the psychological sequelae of such events. Given the systemic challenges that refugee youth face when establishing trust in their new environments, are often from collectivist cultural backgrounds, espouse stigma towards professional help seeking, and must prioritize accessing services for their basic needs, these types of settings can be particularly relevant. In the administration of such services, we advocate for an intentional approach to addressing basic needs as well as using cultural brokers, validated measures, and family- and school-based interventions.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chc.2024.03.015

  View details for PubMedID 39277319

• Ethnic Racial Identity Development and Self-Esteem among Native American Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Peer Belonging. American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online) Hosseini, Z., LaFromboise, T. 2024; 31 (1): 1-30

  Abstract

  While ethnic racial identity (ERI) development is associated with a variety of psychological well-being outcomes, the mechanisms through which this association operates is yet to be fully explained. During adolescence, social belonging is a developmentally salient process that can play a key role in how ERI impacts well-being. We sought to explore the mediating role of belonging to peer networks in the association between ERI and self-esteem among Native American adolescents. In this cross-sectional, mediational study, we used survey data from 317 Native American students attending a reservation high school (46.9% female; M age =16). Students' levels of ERI development were measured by combining items from two scales pertaining to ethnic identity development and racial identity. We employed a structural equation modeling approach to explore the mediating role of peer belonging in the association between ERI and self-esteem. Results suggest that our 4-item index of peer belonging was an acceptable measure of this construct. Further, the significant indirect effect of peer belonging explains a notable portion (β=.22, p ≤ .05) of the total effects of ERI on self- esteem (β=.54, p ≤ .05). This finding suggests that higher levels of ERI achievement contribute to higher levels of peer belongingness, which in turn lead to improved self-esteem among students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.5820/aian.3101.2024.1

  View details for PubMedID 38771792

• Effects of bicultural competence and racial identity on intrinsic motivation: The mediating role of belonging to Native American tribal colleges CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY LaFromboise, T., Rosales, O., Hosseini, Z. 2023; 74

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102203

  View details for Web of Science ID 001024009100001

• Islam and Suicide: An Interdisciplinary Scoping Review SPIRITUALITY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE Awaad, R., Quadri, Y., Suleiman, K., Husain, A., Hosseini, Z., Rehman, O., Elzamzamy, K., Abdelrehim, A., Rushdi, R., Hill, T., Koenig, H. 2023; 10 (1): 32-51

  View details for DOI 10.1037/scp0000311

  View details for Web of Science ID 000970289700004

• Predictors of depression among Syrian refugee women: A socio-culturally relevant analysis. The International journal of social psychiatry Hosseini, Z., Bakdash, T., Ahmad, S., Awaad, R. 2023: 207640231155810

  Abstract

  Syrian refugee women have faced myriad adversities as they have navigated the realities of war, increasing the risk for mental health concerns such as depressive symptomatology. This study explores the nuances of relevant sociocultural factors that can contribute to depressive symptomatology among widowed Syrian refugee women who live in an institutionalized care setting. We explored the impact of past trauma exposure, perceived independence, and a desire to leave the current place of displacement and the interplay between them.The PCRF Traumatic Events Questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were administered to 57 Syrian refugee women in Lebanon (Mage = 37; M number of children = 3) to measure levels of trauma exposure and depressive symptoms, respectively. Perceived independence and a desire to leave their current place of residence were measured using 1-item measures.Using hierarchical regression models, past trauma exposure (B = 1.51, p = .002) and perceived independence (B = 0.33, p = .04) significantly predicted depressive symptoms. A desire to travel (B = 0.84, p = .07) marginally predicted depressive symptoms. Past trauma exposure attenuated the impact of perceived independence on depressive symptoms such that at lower levels of past trauma exposure, higher perceptions of independence predicted higher depression (simple slope = 0.29, t = 2.13, p = .05), while at higher levels of past trauma higher perceptions of independence predicted lower depressive symptoms (simple slope = -0.16, t = -2.21, p = .04). Trauma exposure did not moderate the impact of a desire to leave on depression, but age did.These findings suggest that sociocultural factors may influence women's experiences with depressive symptoms differently, and this heterogeneity must be accounted for when treatment programs are proposed. Further, Syrian refugee women who have lost primary family members may pose different profiles of depressive symptoms than other groups of women.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/00207640231155810

  View details for PubMedID 36825623

• A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Interventions for Afghan Refugee Mental Health: A Cultural Adaptation Analysis Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology Hosseini, Z., Syed, H., Raza, Z., Mansouri, M., Magan, I., Awaad, R. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1177/00220221231213884

• Ethnic Identity and self-esteem development among young adult refugee Teachers in Greece: A Collaborative Teaching Model Teachers in crisis contexts: Promising practices in teacher well-being, management, and school leadership Hosseini, Z., Serra, M. Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies. 2022: 9-12