Social support and its association with refugee stigma symptom severity: Findings from urban refugees living in Mbarara city, southwestern Uganda

Authors: * Ronald Bahati, Herbert Elvis Ainamani, Scholastic Ashaba, Cathy Denise Sigmund,
and Godfrey Zari Rukundo

Introduction:
Social support has been documented as playing an important and positive role in the health and
well-being of refugees right from escape from their country of origin to their final new
settlement. It is a personal resource that is well known to affect adaptation and psychological
well-being of individuals experiencing stressful life events. It relates to the experience of being
valued, respected, cared about, and loved by others who are present in one's life. Our study
aimed to determine the prevalence of stigma symptoms and the association between social
support and stigma among urban refugees in living in Mbarara city Uganda.