Psychopathology
Volume 46, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 45-54

Psychological Symptoms as Long-Term Consequences of War Experiences (Article)

Priebe S.* , Jankovic Gavrilovic J. , Bremner S. , Ajdukovic D. , Franciskovic T. , Galeazzi G.M. , Kucukalic A. , Lecic-Tosevski D. , Morina N. , Popovski M. , Schtzwohl M. , Bogic M.
  • a Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, Newham Centre for Mental Health, London E13 8SP, United Kingdom
  • b Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, Newham Centre for Mental Health, London E13 8SP, United Kingdom, Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership Trust, Dudley, United Kingdom
  • c Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Barts and London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
  • d Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
  • e School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
  • f Department of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
  • g School of Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • h Belgrade University School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia
  • i Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • j Faculty of Philosophy, University of Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia
  • k Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
  • l Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, Newham Centre for Mental Health, London E13 8SP, United Kingdom

Abstract

Background/Aims: War experiences can affect mental health, but large-scale studies on the long-term impact are rare. We aimed to assess long-term mental health consequences of war in both people who stayed in the conflict area and refugees. Method: On average 8 years after the war in former Yugoslavia, participants were recruited by probabilistic sampling in 5 Balkan countries and by registers and networking in 3 Western European countries. General psychological symptoms were assessed on the Brief Symptom Inventory and posttraumatic stress symptoms on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Results: We assessed 3,313 interviewees in the Balkans and 854 refugees. Paranoid ideation and anxiety were the severest psychological symptoms in both samples. In multivariable regressions, older age, various specific war experiences and more traumatic experiences after the war were all associated with higher levels of both general psychological and posttraumatic stress symptoms in both samples. Additionally, a greater number of migration stressors and having only temporary legal status in the host country were associated with greater severity of symptoms in refugees. Conclusions: Psychological symptoms remain high in war-affected populations many years after the war, and this is particularly evident for refugees. Traumatic war experiences still predict higher symptom levels even when the findings have been adjusted for the influence of other factors. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Author Keywords

Ex-Yugoslavia Refugees Long-term mental distress War experiences

Index Keywords

anxiety refugee anxiety disorder multicenter study psychological aspect mental health human Refugees middle aged war Stress, Psychological mental stress Yugoslavia Anxiety Disorders Humans male female Article adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84870337832&doi=10.1159%2f000338640&partnerID=40&md5=aba201334a4d408d64842a9650bc12b6
DOI: 10.1159/000338640
ISSN: 02544962
Cited by: 19
Original Language: English