War experiences and war-related distress in Bosnia and Herzegovina eight years after war.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between war experiences and war-related distress in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


METHODS
The survey was performed in the late 2003 on a representative sample of 3313 respondents. The face-to-face interviews included 15 items on war-related distress and 24 items on war experiences. From these items we developed the War-related Distress Scale, the Direct War Experiences Scale, and the Indirect War Experiences Scale. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between war-related distress symptoms and war experiences variables, controlling for a range of other variables.


RESULTS
Almost half of the respondents did not report any war-related distress symptoms, while about 13% reported 7 or more symptoms. Direct war experiences had a significant effect on war-related distress even eight years after the war, while indirect war experiences showed no significant effect on war-related distress. We found that marital status weakly decreased war-related distress, while household size increased it.


CONCLUSIONS
Direct war experiences seem to have a long-lasting traumatic effect on a substantial number of residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ringdal
Gerd Inger
GI
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. gerd.inger.ringdal@svt.ntnu.no
Ringdal
Kristen
K
Simkus
Albert
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014857:Warfare