The relative contribution of war experiences and exile-related stressors to levels of psychological distress among Bosnian refugees.
This study examined the relative contribution of 2 exile-related variables--social isolation and daily activity level--and war experiences of violence and loss, to levels of PTSD and depressive symptomatology in 2 groups of Bosnian refugees, 1 clinical group (N = 59) and the other a nonclinical community (N = 40) group. As hypothesized, exposure to war-related violence was highly predictive of PTSD symptoms in both groups; in addition, social isolation was significantly related to PTSD symptomatology in the community group. In contrast, depressive symptomatology was accounted for primarily by the exile-related stressors. For the clinical group, depressive symptoms were also accounted for by experiences of war-related loss. The implications of these findings for mental health interventions with refugees are considered.
Miller
Kenneth E
KE
Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, California 94132, USA. kemiller@sfsu.edu
Weine
Stevan M
SM
Ramic
Alma
A
Brkic
Nenad
N
Bjedic
Zvezdana Djuric
ZD
Smajkic
Amer
A
Boskailo
Esad
E
Worthington
Greg
G
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012934:Social Isolation; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014857:Warfare