North Korean refugees experience adaptation difficulties, along with a wide range of\npsychological problems. Accordingly, this study examined the associations between early traumatic\nexperiences, negative automatic thoughts, and depression among young North Korean refugees\nliving in South Korea. Specifically, we examined how different factors of negative automatic thoughts\nwould mediate the relationship between early trauma and depressive symptoms. A total of 109 North\nKorean refugees aged 13ââ?¬â??29 years were recruited from two alternative schools. Our path analysis\nindicated that early trauma was positively linked with thoughts of personal failure, physical threat,\nand hostility, but not with thoughts of social threat. The link with depressive symptoms was only\nsignificant for thoughts of personal failure. After removing all non-significant pathways, the model\nrevealed that early traumatic experiences were positively associated with depressive symptoms\n(Ã?Ÿ = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.48ââ?¬â??0.73) via thoughts of personal failure (Ã?Ÿ = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.08ââ?¬â??0.28), as well\nas directly (Ã?Ÿ = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.27ââ?¬â??0.59). Interventions that target negative cognitions of personal\nfailure may be helpful for North Korean refugees at risk of depression.
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