Traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder in Kurdistanian children and their parents in homeland and exile: an epidemiological approach.
The prevalence and correlates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed in random samples of school-aged Kurdistanian children and their parents in homeland and exile. Of the 376 eligible children at the two sites, 312 children and their parents (293 mothers and 248 fathers) completed the Harvard-Uppsala Trauma Questionnaire and Posttraumatic Stress Symptom interviews for children, and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire for parents. Unlike their children, fathers showed significantly higher PTSD frequencies in exile than in the homeland. The fathers' PTSD negatively correlated with the living standard and fathers' education, while child PTSD mostly correlated with maternal education and living in exile. Living in exile seems to have a negative impact on fathers' post-traumatic reactions, despite its positive influence on children. High drop-outs in exile limit the conclusions.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Uppsala University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. abdulbaghi.ahmad@bupinst.uu.se
Abdulbaghi
A
Ahmad
Anne-Liis
AL
von Knorring
Viveka
V
Sundelin-Wahlsten
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007493:Iraq / Q000208:ethnology; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D013548:Sweden