Psychic disorders in former prisoners of war.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the kind and the representation of psychic disorders in former prisoners of war and war veterans who were not detained in camps.


METHODS
The analyzed sample consisted of 160 respondents divided into two groups. A group of 100 former prisoners of war and a group of 60 war veterans who had not been detained in camps. All the respondents are males and were psychically in healthy condition prior to the war. The modified Harvard Trauma Questionnaire was used to diagnose traumatic experience, and a questionnaire according to the DSM IV criteria was used to diagnose posttraumatic stress disorder. The Depressiveness Scale D-92 was used to diagnose depressiveness; the questionnaire STAI was used to diagnose anxiety; CAGE Questionnaire was used to diagnose alcoholism.


RESULTS
The former prisoners of war had traumatic experience at a higher level as compared to the war veterans who had not been detained in camps (P < 0.05). The symptoms of PTSD were manifested by 55% of camp inmates as compared to 33.3% of war veterans (P < 0.05). Depressive disorder was diagnosed in 52% of camp inmates and 31.7% of war veterans (P < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found among the analyzed groups relating to anxiety and alcohol drinking.


CONCLUSIONS
The former prisoners of war were living through a severer stage and had a more sundry traumatic experience. Severer stage of traumatic experience conditioned statistically higher representation of psychic disorders (PTSD and depressiveness) in the former prisoners of war as compared to the war veterans.
Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Mostar, School of Medicine, University in Mostar.
Dragan
D
Babić
Osman
O
Sinanović
D000328:Adult; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014857:Warfare