Family Therapy for Kosovar Mothers Who Experienced Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Their Children in Postwar Times: A Pilot Randomised Waitlist-Controlled Trial.

Women who have experienced conflict-related sexual violence report significant long-term effects, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and relationship difficulties. Research has demonstrated that maternal trauma is associated with children's behavioural difficulties and challenges in family functioning, such as impaired communication and harsh parenting. This pilot study is aimed at evaluating the preliminary effectiveness of family therapy for Kosovar mothers who experienced conflict-related sexual violence in 1998-1999 and later developed PTSD and their children in improving family functioning and reducing behavioural difficulties in postwar times.

DNA methylation in blood cells is associated with cortisol levels in offspring of mothers who had prenatal post-traumatic stress disorder.

Maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with differential DNA methylation in offspring and disrupted cortisol secretion. This study aimed to determine methylation signatures of cortisol levels in children, and whether associations differ based on maternal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Blood epigenome-wide methylation and fasting cortisol levels were measured in 118 offspring of mothers recruited from the Kosovo Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims.

Intergenerational effects of maternal post-traumatic stress disorder on offspring epigenetic patterns and cortisol levels.

To investigate the association between maternal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation and cortisol levels. Blood genome-wide DNA methylation and cortisol was measured in the youngest child of 117 women who experienced sexual violence/torture during the Kosovo war. Seventy-two percent of women had PTSD symptoms during pregnancy.

"Thinking of You" in Kosovo: Art Activism Against the Stigma of Sexual Violence.

In this article, we present, as participants and observers, an analysis of the social and political impact of the 2015 art installation "Mendoj Për Ty" [Thinking of You], dedicated to survivors of wartime sexual violence in Kosovo. We argue that art possesses an extraordinary power to unveil the "public secret" of wartime rape, as well as produce a "reparative" reading of the past, creating solidarity for, and recognition of, survivors, which simultaneously empowers them and their advocates. We also confirm the crucial role of women's networks and subjectivity to the inclusion of women's perspectives for effective transitional justice.

Quality of prison life, violence and mental health in Dubrava prison.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between the quality of prison life and mental health among prisoners and the occurrence of violence.

Design/methodology/approach: In total, 203 prisoners from Dubrava Correctional Center in Kosovo participated. Data on background characteristics of the prisoners, quality of prison life, mental health symptoms and exposure to physical, psychological and sexual violence were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires.

A novel bio-psycho-social approach for rehabilitation of traumatized victims of torture and war in the post-conflict context: a pilot randomized controlled trial in Kosovo.

Background: Some evidence showed that multidisciplinary rehabilitation in Western countries is effective for treating war-related trauma, but it remains unclear whether this approach is applicable to civilians living in resource-poor countries affected by war. In 2012-14, Danish Institute against Torture (DIGNITY) conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT), in partnership with Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT), to examine the effects of multidisciplinary intervention among victims of torture and war in Kosovo.

Methods: A single-center, randomized, parallel-arm, single-masked, waiting-list controlled trial was implemented in northern Kosovo.

Integrating staff well-being into the Primary Health Care system: a case study in post-conflict Kosovo.

Background: Staff well-being including stress awareness and stress management skills is usually not a priority in (mental) health policies. In Kosovo, the level of stress amongst primary health care (PHC) professionals is high because health professionals are part of the population seriously affected by conflict. The need to support staff and look after their well-being was recognised by the Director of the Centre for Development of Family Medicine, Head of Primary Care.

Survivors of war in the Northern Kosovo (II): baseline clinical and functional assessment and lasting effects on the health of a vulnerable population.

Background: This study documents torture and injury experience and investigates emotional well-being of victims of massive violence identified during a household survey in Mitrovicë district in Kosovo. Their physical health indicators such as body mass index (BMI), handgrip strength and standing balance were also measured. A further aim is to suggest approaches for developing and monitoring rehabilitation programmes.

Survivors of the war in the Northern Kosovo: violence exposure, risk factors and public health effects of an ethnic conflict.

Background: The aim of this population-based study was to assess the long-lasting effects of ethnic conflict on health and well-being (with a focus on injury and persistent pain) at family and community level. We have also investigated possible risk factors for victimisation during the conflict and factors contributing to healing.

Methods: We conducted a district-level cross-sectional cluster survey of 1,115 households with a population of 6,845.

Psychopathology and well-being in civilian survivors of war seeking treatment: a follow-up study.

The goal of the current study was to examine types of exposure to traumatic events and affective and anxiety disorders of 81 civilian war survivors seeking treatment for war-related stress almost one decade following the war in the area of former conflict. Furthermore, the study investigated changes in symptoms of mental health and in well-being amongst these individuals during a treatment period of 6 months. The results indicated that civilian war survivors seeking treatment reported multiple war-related traumatic events and high levels of psychiatric morbidity.