title: Responses to conflict, family loss and flight: posttraumatic stress disorder among unaccompanied refugee minors from Africa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate African unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) living in Austria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence and related symptoms, comorbidity, demographics and coping strategies.
  
  
  METHODS
  "UCLA PTSD Index and inventories" and "Scales for Children Afflicted by War and Persecution (SCWP)" were used to assess 41 African URMs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study revealed lower PTSD rates than measured among URMs in previous studies. Girls were more likely to develop PTSD. PTSD was significantly correlated with single war-related traumatic events. The depression score for the sample was above the clinical cut-off value.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Trauma-specific psychopathology was less severe than reported in other studies. These findings could be explained by concepts of resilience. Other implications, such as response bias, are discussed.
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria, sabine.voelkl-kernstock@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Völkl-Kernstock
authors: Niranjan
authors: N
authors: Karnik
authors: Michaela
authors: M
authors: Mitterer-Asadi
authors: Elisabeth
authors: E
authors: Granditsch
authors: Hans
authors: H
authors: Steiner
authors: Max H
authors: MH
authors: Friedrich
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Huemer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000349:Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D001317:Austria; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D033242:Minors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012737:Sex Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D014857:Warfare