Posttraumatic symptoms were assessed by means of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire among 27 severely traumatized refugees from the former Yugoslavia in psychiatric treatment and then 3 years later, after an average of 5.5 years in Sweden. At follow-up the subjects also answered a questionnaire about their life situations. No significant change in average symptom level had taken place at follow-up. Seventeen subjects met the DSM IV criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at both times. However, five subjects who met the PTSD criteria in the first study did not at follow-up, and the opposite was true for another five subjects. Fifteen subjects reported contact with psychiatric care during the past year. Unemployment and dependence on social welfare were high at follow-up. The unemployment rate of 32% was almost six times greater than that for the regular Swedish labor force but comparable to that of the whole Bosnian labor force in Sweden. Social contacts with the majority population were as common as with compatriots, but two-thirds of the subjects expressed a wish for more social contacts outside the family. Positive factors in the subjects' life situations were the housing situation and the fact that most subjects had at least reasonable knowledge of the majority language. However, a minority of the group still had no formal competence in Swedish, with negative consequences for labor market integration and social contact with Swedes. Two-thirds of the group had made no definite decision to stay in Sweden.

Follow-up Refugees Posttraumatic symptoms Life situation Former Yugoslavia

symptomatology unemployment disease classification refugee Interpersonal Relations Follow-Up Studies minority group follow up human Refugees psychologic assessment language ability middle aged life event controlled study Bosnia and Herzegovina housing Yugoslavia language mental health care quality of life Sweden Humans family male female Socioeconomic Factors Psychiatric Status Rating Scales questionnaire population research social welfare Article psychiatric treatment adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic market employment social behavior labor