Belief systems have been considered to be coping factors for traumatized refugees. The authors present a prospective and extended version of a previous retrospective study reviewing the importance of different coping factors such as belief systems, previous traumatization, and social integration in the treatment of traumatized refugees. A longitudinal design was used to analyze the treatment of 49 refugees, finding that amelioration of posttraumatic symptomatology is related to social and intellectual factors, namely, education, living with a partner, a secure resident status, and the use of medication. The previous level of traumatization did not present an obstacle to the therapy. Although nonsignificant, those patients who had strong belief systems showed better improvement. The importance of sociocultural and beliefs as coping and therapeutic factors is discussed.
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