Gender as moderator of the relations between interpersonal and noninterpersonal trauma exposure and mental health problems in conflict-affected children and adolescents.

Objective: This study examined the moderating role of gender in the associations between cumulative exposure to interpersonal trauma (IPT) and noninterpersonal trauma (NIPT) and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents in conflict-affected areas.

Method: Based on a sample of 980 children (rangeage = 6-12, = 9.60, 471 girls) and 472 adolescents (range = 13-18, = 15.

Childhood cancer and parental mental health: role of disease severity, socioeconomic status, and social dynamics.

Background: The impact of childhood cancer extends beyond the affected child, significantly influencing the mental health of their families. Since research in psycho-oncology has been carried out almost exclusively in high-income countries, little is known about the impact of childhood cancer on the family level in low- and middle income countries (LMICs). This is a notable gap in the evidence-base, as many LMICs are collectivist cultures, where social and family networks are crucial elements of health care.

Continuous chains: childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence victimization among displaced women in a war context.

Background: Childhood victimization has been associated with long-term psychological effects and an increased risk of being victimized in later life. Previous research has primarily focused on sexual abuse during childhood, and a wide range of consequences have been identified. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of the complex interaction between different forms of childhood abuse and violence in later life, particularly in the context of broader social stressors such as armed conflict and displacement.

The network structure of posttraumatic stress symptoms in war-affected children and adolescents.

Background: It is unclear whether findings from previous network analyses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among children and adolescents are generalizable to youth living in war-torn settings and whether there are differences in the structure and connectivity of symptoms between children and adolescents. This study examined the network structure of PTSD symptoms in a sample of war-affected youth and compared the symptom networks of children and adolescents.

Methods: The overall sample comprised 2007 youth (6-18 years old) living in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Palestine, Tanzania, and Uganda amid or close to war and armed conflict.

Does Time Heal Trauma? 18 Month Follow-Up Study of Syrian Refugees' Mental Health in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

The findings of longitudinal studies on traumatized refugees have shown that factors related to premigration, migration, and post-migration experiences determine changes in mental health over time. The primary aim of this follow-up study was to examine the potential change in the prevalence rates of probable PTSD and depression among Syrian refugees in Iraq. An unselected group of N = 92 Syrian adult refugees was recruited from Arbat camps in Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, and then interviewed at two different time points between July 2017 and January 2019.

The mental health of forcibly displaced couples.

Most current research investigating traumatic stress is focused on its effects at the individual level, utilizing the implicit assumption that trauma-related disorders are mutually independent within families and communities. However, there is reason to assume that trauma-related symptoms within couples are influenced by each partner's risk factors and symptoms. Using the actor-partner interdependence model, this study aimed to test whether symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were predicted by participants' partner's exposure to traumatic events over and above the influence of the participant's own experiences.

The posttraumatic stress interview for children (KID-PIN): development and validation of a semi-structured interview of PTSD symptoms among displaced children in the Middle East.

Background: In populations affected by mass disaster such as armed conflict and displacement, children are at risk of developing mental ill-health, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Valid and reliable screening instruments are needed to assess the severity of PTSD symptoms among children and to identify individuals in need of treatment.

Method: In the context of an ongoing war in the Middle East, we developed the KID-PIN as a semi-structured interview for PTSD symptoms that can be administered by trained paraprofessionals.

Sex differences in PTSD risk: evidence from post-conflict populations challenges the general assumption of increased vulnerability in females.

: Next to the dose-dependent effect of trauma load, female sex represents a well-established risk factor for PTSD. Exposure to particularly toxic traumatic event types, different coping styles, and biological risk factors are frequently listed as potential causes for the increased PTSD vulnerability in females. Nevertheless, sex differences have not been consistently observed in all study populations.

Toward a Contextually Valid Assessment of Partner Violence: Development and Psycho-Sociometric Evaluation of the Gendered Violence in Partnerships Scale (GVPS).

This article presents a new measure for intimate partner violence (IPV), the Gendered Violence in Partnerships Scale (GVPS). The scale was developed in the Middle East with the aim to contribute to the global perspective on IPV by providing a contextual assessment tool for partner violence against women in violent-torn settings embedded in a patriarchal social structure. In an effort to generate a scale including IPV items relevant to the women of the population, a pragmatic step-wise procedure, with focus group discussions and expert panels, was performed.

Association of War-Related and Gender-Based Violence With Mental Health States of Yazidi Women.

Importance: Yazidi women in northern Iraq have experienced severe human rights violations through attacks by the so-called Islamic State group, with severe consequences for their health. However, no studies to date have investigated how war-related and gender-based violence, including partner violence, are associated with mental health disorders in this population.

Objective: To evaluate the associations between Yazidi women's experiences of violence (ie, war violence, partner violence, enslavement) and their mental health.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among Syrian refugees residing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Background: Since the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, more than half of the Syrian population was forced to escape from their homes, and more than 5 million of them fled their country. The aim of the present study is to estimate the psychological consequences of this conflict among the refugee population who fled to Iraq.

Method: In 2017, a team of locally trained psychologists and social workers interviewed 494 married couples (988 individuals) who were Syrian Kurdish refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The contribution of mental health and gender attitudes to intimate partner violence in the context of war and displacement: Evidence from a multi-informant couple survey in Iraq.

Rationale: Intimate partner violence is a prevalent issue in refugee and internally displaced populations in post-war and migration settings including camps in the Middle East. In this context, partner violence has been associated with war-related trauma, camp factors, individual characteristics, and gender attitudes.

Objective: With a dual-informant survey among a sample of Iraqi couples residing in a camp for displaced people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (N = 92) this study investigated the relationship between war-related psychopathology, attitudes towards women, and male-perpetrated partner violence.

Dimensional Structure and Cultural Invariance of DSM V Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Among Iraqi and Syrian Displaced People.

While the factor structure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has been investigated among various traumatized populations in Western and high-income countries, knowledge regarding the validity of factor structure of PTSD among culturally diverse populations in low-and-middle-income countries is limited. The current study examined the factor structure and cultural invariance of PTSD in 521 Iraqi and 993 Syrian war-affected displaced people who were living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Results from confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that alternative factor models for PTSD, including a new model derived from this population (anhedonia and affect model) resulted in a better fit than the current DSM V models.

Trauma and perceived social rejection among Yazidi women and girls who survived enslavement and genocide.

Background: In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist organization, attacked the Yazidi's ancestral homeland in northwestern Iraq. Among other atrocities, they abducted thousands of women and girls and traded many of them into sexual slavery. The aim of this study is to determine the mental health of women and girl survivors of these events in relation to enslavement and experiences with genocide-related events, as well as perceived social rejection in their community.

The validity of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) as screening instrument with Kurdish and Arab displaced populations living in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Background: The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) is a valid and reliable self-report measure for the assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Recently the PCL was updated according to the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. So far only a few studies have examined the psychometric properties of the PCL-5, and all of these are restricted to populations living in industrialized countries.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Resulting from Torture and Other Traumatic Events among Syrian Kurdish Refugees in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Political violence is known to cause psychological distress. There is a large body of empirical studies drawing correlations between war trauma, torture, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there are few studies on the effects of war-related trauma among Syrian refugees after events following the 'Arab Spring' uprisings between 2010 and 2012.