Browsing by Author "Matanov, Aleksandra (8979114900)"

The aim of the study was to explore why people suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following war do not receive treatment. A total of 212 participants who have PTSD following war in the Balkans and have never received psychiatric treatment were interviewed (86 in Western Europe and 126 in Balkan countries). Answers were subjected to thematic content analysis. Five major and not mutually exclusive themes were identified: "need no help" (57 participants), "personal ways of coping" (72 participants), "negative attitude towards psychiatric treatment" (91 participants), "comparative insignificance" (24 participants), and "external barriers" (65 participants). While most participants, for different reasons, did not want to seek psychiatric treatment, a significant number, particularly in Western European countries, felt prevented from receiving treatment. © 2011, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Background: Exposure to traumatic war events may lead to a reduction in quality of life for many years. Research suggests that these impairments may be associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms; however, wars also have a profound impact on social conditions. Systematic studies utilising subjective quality of life (SQOL) measures are particularly rare and research in post-conflict settings is scarce. Whether social factors independently affect SQOL after war in addition to symptoms has not been explored in large scale studies. Method. War-affected community samples were recruited through a random-walk technique in five Balkan countries and through registers and networking in three Western European countries. The interviews were carried out on average 8 years after the war in the Balkans. SQOL was assessed on Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life - MANSA. We explored the impact of war events, posttraumatic stress symptoms and post-war environment on SQOL. Results: We interviewed 3313 Balkan residents and 854 refugees in Western Europe. The MANSA mean score was 4.8 (SD = 0.9) for the Balkan sample and 4.7 (SD = 0.9) for refugees. In both samples participants were explicitly dissatisfied with their employment and financial situation. Posttraumatic stress symptoms had a strong negative impact on SQOL. Traumatic war events were directly linked with lower SQOL in Balkan residents. The post-war environment influenced SQOL in both groups: unemployment was associated with lower SQOL and recent contacts with friends with higher SQOL. Experiencing more migration-related stressors was linked to poorer SQOL in refugees. Conclusion: Both posttraumatic stress symptoms and aspects of the post-war environment independently influence SQOL in war-affected populations. Aid programmes to improve wellbeing following the traumatic war events should include both treatment of posttraumatic symptoms and social interventions. © 2013 Matanov et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.