Matanov, Aleksandra (8979114900)Aleksandra (8979114900)MatanovGiacco, Domenico (36087378900)Domenico (36087378900)GiaccoBogic, Marija (25642640000)Marija (25642640000)BogicAjdukovic, Dean (6604039029)Dean (6604039029)AjdukovicFranciskovic, Tanja (6507049958)Tanja (6507049958)FranciskovicGaleazzi, Gian Maria (55664023400)Gian Maria (55664023400)GaleazziKucukalic, Abdulah (6701449809)Abdulah (6701449809)KucukalicLecic-Tosevski, Dusica (6602315043)Dusica (6602315043)Lecic-TosevskiMorina, Nexhmedin (57197268422)Nexhmedin (57197268422)MorinaPopovski, Mihajlo (35849091500)Mihajlo (35849091500)PopovskiSchützwohl, Matthias (7003729890)Matthias (7003729890)SchützwohlPriebe, Stefan (8115293800)Stefan (8115293800)Priebe2025-06-122025-06-122013https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-624https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84879808078&doi=10.1186%2f1471-2458-13-624&partnerID=40&md5=e58b328474b24fa4783837e22b9e37b5https://remedy.med.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/9086Background: 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.Post-conflict SettingsRefugeesSubjective Quality of LifeWar Trauma