The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted global physical, mental, and public health and disproportionately affected refugee youth. Novel stressors, like a global pandemic, may compound previous stress and trauma exposure. We aimed to test the "challenge model of resilience" (i.e., moderate exposure to adversity may confer resilience to future stressors) and assess COVID-19-related stress severity in youth resettled in the United States as refugees of Syria (N = 66, Mage = 12.72 years). We recruited youth aged 10-17 years who had been previously screened for trauma exposure and conducted virtual assessments on COVID-19-related stress, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and anxiety symptoms between March 2021 and March 2022. An ANCOVA adjusted for age, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety indicated a significant dose-response effect of trauma on current COVID-19-related stress, F(2, 58) = 6.67, p = .002, h2 = .19. Youth exposed to high doses of adversity reported more distress than those exposed to low-to-moderate, p = .007, and no-to-minimal, p = .006, doses. Although youth exposed to low-to-moderate doses reported slightly less distress than those who reported no-to-minimal exposure, post hoc comparisons indicated that this contrast was nonsignificant. Our findings partially support the challenge model of resilience; however, the small size and homogeneity of the sample preclude generalization to other cohorts of stress-exposed youth. Regular screening for traumatic life events in youth could prompt early intervention to mitigate longer-term impacts. Increased integration of positive health-promoting programs in schools and communities that teach stress coping strategies could confer resilience to youth regardless of exposure level.
© 2025 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.