×
Home Current Archive Editorial board
News Contact
Review paper

Post-traumatic stress disorder and coping styles of war veterans from Tuzla Canton twenty years after the war

By
Zihnet Selimbašić Orcid logo ,
Zihnet Selimbašić
Contact Zihnet Selimbašić

Department of Psychiatry, University Clinical Centre Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

School of Medicine,

Maja Brkić ,
Maja Brkić

Department of Psychiatry, University Clinical Centre Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, University Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nermina Kravić ,
Nermina Kravić

Department of Psychiatry, University Clinical Centre Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

School of Medicine,

Jasmin Hamidović ,
Jasmin Hamidović

School of Medicine,

Department of Psychiatry, University Clinical Centre Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mirna Selimbašić
Mirna Selimbašić

Department of Neurology, University Clinical Centre Tuzla, University Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Aim
To analyse symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and coping strategies of war veterans in Tuzla Canton twenty years after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H).
Methods
The study analysed a group of 120 war veterans from the Tuzla Canton who had experience of the war in B&H. For assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder Harvard Trauma Questionnaire was used, a version for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for assessment of coping styles Life Style Index was used.
Results
Concerning number of traumatic experiences of war veterans, it was found that they suffered 12 traumatic experiences. Most often traumatic experience was the participation in fighting and shelling (90.0%), knowledge of injuries in combat or landmine injuries of family members or friends (75.8%), exposure to snipers (74.2%). The most important were the symptoms of numbnessemotional numbness (2.62%), the symptoms of intrusion (2.58%) and the severity of the symptoms of PTSD (2.39%). The most common strategy of dealing with veterans of war was a projection (68.31%) and intellectualisation (56.20%).
Conclusion
War veterans have experienced polytraumatic experiences in war and show increased expression of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, emphasised psychosocial problems with a common defence mechanism in the form of projections twenty years after the war. War veterans are in need of continuous treatment in order to reduce long-term consequences of war trauma.

References

1.
Neria Y, Nandi A, Galea S. Posttraumatic stress disorder following disasters: a systematic review. Psychol Med. 2008. p. 467–80.
2.
Priebe S, Gavrilović J, Bremner J, Ajduković S, Francisković D, Galeazzi T, et al. Psychological symptoms as long-term consequences of war experiences. Psychopatol. 2013. p. 45–54.
3.
Begić S, Mcdonald T. The psychological effects of exposure to wartime trauma in Bosnian residents and refugees: Implications for treatment and service provision. Int J Ment Health Addiction. 2006. p. 319–29.
4.
Anonimous. Medicinska naklada: Zagreb. 1994.
5.
Weathers F, Brett T, Terence M. Traumatic Stress: From Theory to Practice. Plenum Press; 1995. p. 3–28.
6.
Spurgeon D. Fear of stigma deters US soldiers from seeking help for mental health. BMJ. 2004. p. 12.
7.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
8.
Hoge C, Riviere L, Wilk J, Herrell R. Weathers FW. The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in US combat soldiers: a head-to-head comparison of DSM-5 versus DSM-IV-TR symptom criteria with the PTSD checklist. Lancet Psychiatry. 2014. p. 269–77.
9.
Kušević Z, Vukušić H, Lerotić G, Jokić-Begić N, Bencarić Z. Prevalence of the chronic PTSP in Croatian war veterans. Psychiatr Danub. 1999. p. 19–24.
10.
Marmar C, Schlenger W, Henn-Haase C, Qian M, Purchia E, Li M, et al. Course of posttraumatic stress disorder 40 years after the Vietnam War: findings from the National Vietnam veterans longitudinal study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015. p. 875–81.
11.
Lečić-Toševski D, Pejusković B, Miladinović T, Tosković O, Priebe S. PTSD in Serbian communityseven years after trauma exposure. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2013. p. 1040–4.
12.
Shahini M, Shala M. Post-traumatic stress disorder in Kosovo veterans. Sage Open. 2016. p. 1–7.
13.
Litz B, Orsillo S, Friedman M, Ehlich P, Batres A. Posttraumatic stress disorder associated with peacekeeping duty in Somalia for U.S. military personnel. Am J Psychiatry. 1997. p. 178–84.
14.
Fear R, Hull N, Wessely L, S. Women in novel occupational roles: Mental health trends in UK armed Forces. Int J Epidemiol. 2007. p. 319–26.
15.
Allden K, Cerić I, Kapetanović A, Lavelle J, Loga S, Mathias M, et al. Bosnia-Herzegovina version. 1998.
16.
Lamovec T, Bele-Potočnik Ž, Boben D. Upitnik životnog stila i obrambeni mehanizmi Centar za psihodijagnostična sredstva -Zavod za produktivnost dela. 1990.
17.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). American Psychiatric Association; 1994.
18.
Oruč L, Kapetanović A, Pojskić N, Miley K, Forstbauer S, Mollica R. Henderson DC Screening for PTSD and depression in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Validating the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Int J Cult Mental Health. 2008. p. 105–16.
19.
Sledjeski E, Speisman B, Dierker L. Does number of lifetime traumas explain the relationship between PTSD and chronic medical conditions? Answers from the National comorbidity survey-replication (NCS-R). J Behav Med. 2008. p. 341–9.
20.
Kessler R. Posttraumatic stress disorder: the burden to the individual and to society. J Clin Psychiatry. 2000. p. 4–12.
21.
Marmar C, Schlenger W, Henn-Haase C, Qian M, Purchia E, Li M, et al. Course of posttraumatic stress disorder 40 years after the Vietnam war: findings from the National Vietnam veterans longitudinal study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015. p. 875–81.
22.
Stimpson N, Thomas HV, Weightman A, Dunstan F, Lewia G. Psychiatric disorder in veterans of the Persian Gulf war of 1991: systematic review. Br J Psychiatry. 2003. p. 391–403.
23.
Ikin J, Sim M, Creamer M. War-related psychological stressors and risk of psychological disorders in Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf war. Br J Psychiatry. 2004. p. 116–26.
24.
Streth R. Post-traumatic stress disorder and the Canadian Vietnam veterans. J Trauma Stress. 1990. p. 239–54.
25.
Komar Z, Vukušić H. Proceedings of the New insights in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Zagreb: Croatian Academy of Science and Arts. 26AD. p. 42–4.
26.
Špirić Z, Samardžić R, Matejić B, Čurčić V, Cavaljuga M. Quality of life in Serbian veterans one decade after war. Eur Psychiatry. 2012. p. 1.
27.
Gruden V, Gruden V, Libido, Ptsp. Coll Antropol. 2000. p. 253–6.
28.
Punamaki R I, Kanninen K, Qouta S. The role of psychological defenses in moderating between trauma and post-traumatic symptoms among Palestinian men. Int J Psychol. 2002. p. 286–96.
29.
Knežević M, Krupić D, Šućurović S. Coping strategies in war veterans 20 years after exposure to extreme stress. Društvena istraživanja. 2016. p. 353–70.

Citation

Authors retain copyright. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License

 

Article metrics

Google scholar: See link

The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.