Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions for Reducing Distress Among Displaced Women and SGBV Survivors

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of evidence-based psychosocial interventions in reducing distress among displaced women and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, addressing the persistent problem of trauma-related fear, anxiety, hopelessness, social withdrawal, and reduced coping capacity in humanitarian settings. The purpose was to determine whether intervention accessibility, perceived quality, participation frequency, safe-service trust, and barriers to support utilization significantly influenced distress reduction within a quantitative, cross-sectional, case-study-based design. The study drew on a sample of 220 displaced women and SGBV survivors from a defined displacement-affected case setting, where respondents had been exposed to counseling, group psychosocial support, peer/community support, or case management services. Data were collected through a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression in SPSS. The dependent variable was distress reduction, while the key independent variables were accessibility of interventions, intervention quality, participation frequency, safe-service trust and survivor-centered care, and barriers to psychosocial support utilization. Findings showed strong overall perceived distress reduction, with the mean distress-reduction score reaching 4.06 out of 5, while the overall distress profile declined from 4.19 before intervention to 2.58 after intervention, reflecting a mean improvement of 1.61 points. Safe-service trust had the highest mean among service variables at 4.18 and emerged as the strongest predictor of distress reduction in regression analysis (β = .36, p < .001), followed by intervention quality (β = .29, p < .001), accessibility (β = .21, p = .003), and participation frequency (β = .17, p = .011), whereas barriers showed a significant negative effect (β = -.19, p = .006). The overall model was statistically significant, F(5,214) = 46.83, p < .001, explaining 52.2% of the variance in distress reduction (R² = .522). The study implies that psychosocial interventions are most effective when they are accessible, high-quality, repeated, and delivered through trauma-informed, safe, and survivor-centered care, with practical efforts to reduce stigma, fear of disclosure, and access barriers.