The purpose of the present study was to identify the role of cognitive and personality factors in PTSD among Syrian refugees. To this end, 100 (52 males and 48 females) Syrian Kurdish refugees, within the age range of 30 to 60 currently settled at Halabja Governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were selected based on convenience sampling strategy. They were asked to fill in three questionnaires, namely, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 with Criterion A (PCL-5) by Weathers, Litz, Keane, Palmieri, Marx and Schnuur (2013), the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory–9 Item (PTCI-9) by Wells, Morland, Torres, Kloezeman, Mackintosh and Aarons (2019), and the Big Five Inventory-2 Extra Short Form (BFI-2 XS) by Soto and John (2017). Having collected the required data, Pearson correlation, multiple regression and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between Syrian refugees’ PTSD and their overall posttraumatic cognitions, negative cognitions of the self and self-blame. Furthermore, among cognitive factors, negative cognitions of the self was found to be a stronger predictor of PTSD. Moreover, it was found that there was a significant and negative relationship between Syrian refugees’ PTSD and their agreeableness, conscientiousness, and open-mindedness. Moreover, among different types of personality, agreeableness was found to be a stronger predictor of PTSD. Likewise, the results indicated that the level of Syrian refugees’ PTSD was relatively low. Additionally, the findings showed that there was a significant and negative relationship between Syrian refugees’ overall posttraumatic cognitions and four types of personality, namely, agreeableness, conscientiousness, negative emotionality, and open-mindedness. In addition, the results indicated that the participants’ age and educational level had no significant relationship with their PTSD. Finally, there was no significant difference between male and female Syrian refugees’ PTSD, cognitive factors and personality factors. The results of this study can help all those who are in charge of providing psychosocial support programs for the Syrian refugees to grasp a better picture on the role of cognitive and personality factors in Syrian refugees’ PTSD.
