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War exposure among children from Bosnia‐Hercegovina: Psychological adjustment in a community sample
Author(s) -
Smith Patrick,
Perrin Sean,
Yule William,
Hacam Berima,
Stuvland Rune
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1014812209051
Subject(s) - psychosocial , distress , anxiety , psychology , context (archaeology) , depression (economics) , psychiatry , clinical psychology , grief , anxiety disorder , posttraumatic stress , paleontology , macroeconomics , economics , biology
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.