War exposure among children from Bosnia-Hercegovina: Psychological adjustment in a community sample

Summary, in English

As part of a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) psychosocial programme during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina, data were collected from a community sample of 2,976 children aged between 9 and 14 years. Children completed standardized self-report measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, and grief, as well as a report of the amount of their own exposure to war-related

violence. Results showed that children reported high levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms and grief reactions. However, their self-reported levels of depression and anxiety were not raised. Levels of distress were related to children's amount and type of exposure. Girls reported more distress than boys, but there were few meaningful age effects within the age band studied. Results are discussed in the context of service development for children in war.

• Author: Patrick Smith; Sean Perrin; William Yule; Berima Hacam; Rune Stuvland
• Publishing year: 2002-11-10
• Language: English
• Pages: 147-156
• Publication/Series: Journal of Traumatic Stress
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 2
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/a:1014812209051
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
• Topic: Psychology
• Keywords: Children; PTSD; War; adjustment; anxiety neurosis; article; Bosnia and Herzegovina; child; coping behavior; depression; distress syndrome; female; grief; human; major clinical study; male; posttraumatic stress disorder; scoring system; self report; violence; war
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0894-9867