Exposure to Violence and Complex PTSD Symptoms among University Students in Baghdad: A preliminary Report. | ||
| IRAQI JOURNALOF COMMUNITY MEDICINE | ||
| Article 1, Volume 26, Issue 3, December 2013, Pages 192-194 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Ahmed Samir Al-Nuaimi; Ameel F. Al-Shawi; Jawad K. Al-Diwan | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Abstract: Background: Iraqis have been exposed to wars, widespread violence and terrorist activities during the last 3 decades. Few reports were demonstrating the effect of exposure to wars and conflicts on mental health of Iraqis. Objective of the study: estimation of prevalence of some symptoms of complex PTSD among university students in Baghdad. Subjects & methods: A total of 319 university students from Baghdad University and their residency in Baghdad governorate were selected conveniently to participate in the study. Iraqi version of Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was used to measure the trauma exposure. HTQ consisted of 28 items on exposure to traumatic events and we used four prominent symptoms of complex PTSD (feeling of guilty, hopelessness, feeling of a shame, and need for revenge) in HTQ- Iraqi version for Trauma symptoms (part IV) for estimating the prevalence of symptoms of complex PTSD among the participants. A score>2.5 was considered significant for meeting criteria of complex PTSD symptoms. Results: Out of the total, 32students (10.0%) had complex PTSD symptoms. There was no association between complex PTSD symptoms neither with age nor with sex. Complex PTSD symptoms were positively associated with the number of trauma events. Conclusion: High prevalence of complex PTSD symptoms was revealed among students of Baghdad University. Keywords: complex posttraumatic stress disorder, widespread violence - Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, University student, Baghdad, war. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| complex posttraumatic stress disorder; widespread violence; Harvard Trauma Questionnaire; University student; Baghdad; war | ||
|
Statistics Article View: 96 PDF Download: 20 |
||