Coping strategies in civilians during air attacks

Abstract

s Abstract Background Coping strategies may influence the psychological outcome after a stressful event, both as coping at the time of the event and as strategies of dealing with its consequences after the event. The aim of the study was to investigate coping strategies used by civilians during the air attacks in Yugoslavia in 1999, and their association with the level of exposure, gender and psychological symptoms 1 year later. Method The sample is a non-selective group of 139 medical students from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Open questions and content analysis were used to assess coping strategies. Symptoms of intrusion and avoidance were assessed, as well as general psychological symptoms. Results Content analysis of answers to open questions revealed nine categories of coping strategies (sport and walks, leisure activities, talking and gathering, humor, avoidance, philosophical approach, getting information, work, and substance abuse).A cluster analysis identified three groups of students with different styles of coping. Students that used dominantly 'talking and gathering' had the highest, and the ones that mostly used 'leisure activities' the lowest scores on intrusion. There were significant gender differences in how coping strategies were associated with intrusive symptoms. Conclusion The type of coping strategies used during the air attacks may contribute to the level of intrusive symptoms 1 year after the event. Different coping strategies might be effective in men and women to reduce intrusive symptoms. Longitudinal and prospective studies are needed to draw definite conclusions on causal relationships between coping strategies and levels of posttraumatic stress.s

War-related psychological sequelae among emergency department patients in the former Republic of Yugoslavia

“…Among former Somali refugees resettled in the United Kingdom, suicidality and drug use were associated with unemployment prior to their migration [48]. In a study that evaluated coping strategies among Serbian medical students, greater social support activities seemed to protect against psychological morbidity in the year following the NATO air campaign [49]. …”

Sex Differences in PTSD

“…6.1 Social support Empirical evidence suggests that high levels of oxytocin may enhance the effect of social support on stress (Taylor et al, 2006), suggesting that the tend-and-befriend response may not only affect how females respond to stress, but may also affect how they benefit from social support in the aftermath of trauma. Not only do females seek, receive, and provide more support in stressful situations than males (Andrews et al, 2003;Tamres et al, 2002), there are also some indications that the positive effects of social support as well as the negative effects of negative social attention on PTSD may be more pronounced in females than in males (Ahern et al, 2004;Andrews et al, 2003;Gavrilovic et al, 2003). However, other studies have not found this (Farhood et al, 1993), and the relationship between sex, social support, and PTSD appears to be complex (Christiansen & Elklit, 2008).…”

Relationship of early-life trauma, war-related trauma, personality traits, and PTSD symptom severity: a retrospective study on female civilian victims of war

“…However, factors associated with the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after experiencing war-related trauma have mostly been investigated in military and dominantly male populations (Brewin, Andrews, & Valentine, 2000 ; Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2003 ). Prevalence rates of PTSD among community samples affected by war vary significantly from 11% in students following the air-attacks (Gavrilovic et al, 2003 ), 16–37% among civilians in Algeria, Cambodia, Ethiopia and Gaza (De Jong, Komproe, & Van Ommeren, 2003 ), yet even up to 61% among young people in Baghdad (Al-Hadethe, Hunt, Thomas, & Al-Qaysi, 2014 ). In a methodologically sound study on the prevalence of mental disorders after the war in the Balkans in adult population still living in the area of conflict, the prevalence rates of PTSD were 10.6% in FYR Macedonia, 18.0% in Croatia, 18.2% in Kosovo, 18.8% in Serbia, and 35.4% in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Priebe et al, 2010 ).…”