Lifetime Events and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in 4 Postconflict Settings

Abstract

Using the same assessment methods, a wide range of rates of symptoms of PTSD were found among 4 low-income populations who have experienced war, conflict, or mass violence. We identified specific patterns of risk factors per country. Our findings indicate the importance of contextual differences in the study of traumatic stress and human rights violations.

The association of exposure, risk, and resiliency factors with PTSD among Jews and Arabs exposed to repeated acts of terrorism in Israel

“…However, this prior study was conducted during an even more pronounced period of terrorism, and combined rates for Jews and Arabs (Bleich et al, 2003), which would increase the overall rates of PTSD. The high rates we found for Arabs were consistent with the extremely high rates of probable PTSD previously documented for Palestinians in the Gaza strip (de Jong et al, 2001) and with PTSD symptom scores previously noted for Israeli Arabs (Hobfoll, CanettiNisim, et al, 2006). Consistent with other research on terrorism Hobfoll, Canetti-Nissim, et al, 2006;Hobfoll, Tracy, et al, 2006) and disaster (Benight et al, 1999;Freedy, Shaw, Jarrell, &;Masters, 1992;Ironson et al, 1997;Norris & Kaniasty, 1996), loss of personal, social, and economic resources was associated with higher probable PTSD Hobfoll, 1998).…”

Socio-demographic patterns of posttraumatic stress disorder in Medellin, Colombia and the context of lifetime trauma exposure

“…High rates of psychiatric symptoms have been observed among individuals impacted by conflict in diverse settings worldwide, including Lebanon, 51 Cambodia, 52 Afghanistan, 53 the Balkans, 54 Rwanda, 55 Algeria, Gaza, and Ethiopia. 56 Similar findings derived from studies in Latin American countries impacted by conflict and violence. Pineda et al (2002) 58 conducted a study in a Colombian village that was attacked by guerrilla forces 2 y prior to the study and found that 37.6% of respondents met PTSD criteria.…”

The assessment of psychopathology among traumatized refugees: measurement invariance of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 across five linguistic groups

“…Differences of observed scale scores between Dutch patients and refugee patients with non-western language backgrounds either reflect measurement bias instead of true underlying differences in PTSD symptom severity (Meredith, 1993; Van de Schoot, Lugtig, & Hox, 2012) or reflect the notion that refugees score higher on PTSD as a result of experiencing more traumatic events (e.g. de Jong et al, 2001). We conclude that it is advisable to develop differentiated cut-off scores with regard to the HTQ for patients with a western language background and for refugee patient groups with non-western language backgrounds.…”