To assess the level of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among Bosnian war refugees, a consecutive cohort of 206 Bosnian refugees, arriving in Sweden in 1993, was screened for PTSD using a modified version of the self-report instrument PTSS-10. A comparison group of 387 visitors to seven Swedish health centers was recruited. Prevalence of possible PTSD, using two estimates, was 18 to 33% among the Bosnian refugees, and .3 to 1% in the comparison group. The PTSS-10 showed high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .92) and stability (test-retest reliability r = .89). Thus, Bosnian war refugees showed high levels of PTSD symptoms compared to a nonrefugee comparison group.

posttraumatic stress disorder Bosnia-Hercegovina Refugee

refugee risk human Refugees psychologic assessment controlled study Bosnia and Herzegovina screening test Psychological Tests Bosnia-Herzegovina Sweden Humans male female reliability Reproducibility of Results prevalence Psychometrics Article major clinical study adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Case-Control Studies