Objective: Very limited evidence is available on the psychological impact of war on adolescents in Ukraine. This study compared war experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression in adolescents living in war-torn and peaceful regions of Ukraine, more than 2 years after Russia first invaded in 2014.
Method: The cross-sectional study included 2,766 students aged 11 to 17 years living in the war-torn Donetsk region and in Kirovograd in central Ukraine. Self-reported PTSD, depression, and anxiety were assessed by Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Data were collected from September 2016 to January 2017. Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the association between PTSD, anxiety, and depression and regions.
Results: War trauma and daily stress were higher in adolescents in the Donetsk region; 881 (60.2%) adolescents had witnessed armed attacks, 204 (13.9%) were victims of violence, and 409 (27.9%) were forced to leave their homes. They also had significantly increased risks for PTSD (odds ratio [OR] 4.11, 95% CI 2.37-7.13), severe anxiety (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.83-5.27), and moderately severe/severe depression (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.79-3.92).
Conclusion: Traumatic events and daily stress were strongly associated with psychological distress in adolescents living in a war-torn region in Ukraine. These findings can help in understanding, measuring, and addressing the long-term impact that the current escalating war in Ukraine will have on adolescents' mental health and social functioning.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.845 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
"We pray for the night to be shorter, so we can change our menstrual pads": A qualitative exploration of menstrual hygiene challenges among internally displaced adolescent girls in Northern Ethiopia, 2023.
PLoS One
October 2024
Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States of America.
Background: Menstrual hygiene management is a critical aspect of adolescent health. However, access to adequate menstrual hygiene products and sanitation facilities is severely restricted during times of war. There is a dearth of information about the menstrual hygiene needs of adolescent girls during humanitarian crises.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effectiveness of a mental health, parenting support, and violence prevention program for families affected by the war in Ukraine: Findings from a pre-post study.
J Migr Health
July 2024
Centre for Evidence-Based Social Intervention, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Background: Nearly one in six children lived in war zones in 2023. Evidence-based psychosocial and parenting support has potential to mitigate negative impacts for parents and children co-exposed to war and displacement, especially in relation to mental health and harsh parenting reactions. In the current war in Ukraine, local mental health experts co-created and evaluated, with global experts, the effectiveness of psychosocial and parenting support groups, called on improvements in mental health, positive parenting, and violence against children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the influence of social media on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in a war-torn Syria: A cross-sectional study.
Medicine (Baltimore)
August 2024
Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Social media has become a source of disseminating information to the public during the COVID-19 outbreak which has been a great advantage for healthcare centers. However, foreign anti-vaccination campaigns on social media increased the disbelief in vaccine safety. To our knowledge, the effects of social media on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance are not well-studied in low-income countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessing the mental health and psychosocial well-being of Ukrainian pediatric trauma and burn patients and their caregivers amidst the war: insights from a surgical medical mission in Poland.
J Burn Care Res
September 2024
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
On a recent surgical medical mission caring for Ukrainian pediatric burn and trauma patients in Poland, an assessment of the mental health and well-being of children and their caregivers was completed. Children living in war zones frequently experience significant distress and mental health problems, but little is known about the impact of coexisting related or unrelated burn injuries or physical disabilities. Nineteen Ukrainian children and their caregivers were interviewed utilizing validated questionnaires Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) to assess their risk for developing or for the presence of clinically significant mental health problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development and validation of the Palestinian children's traumatic events checklist in a war-torn environment.
BMC Psychiatry
April 2024
Department of Human Sciences and Education "R.Massa", University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Traumatic experiences in childhood can lead to trauma symptoms and impaired mental health, especially when children are exposed to war and political violence. Despite significant attention to child's exposure to traumas, few instruments to detect potentially traumatic events have been validated psychometrically. Our study aimed to develop, adapt and validate a user-friendly traumatic events checklist in Palestinian children living in three areas affected by low-intensity war and ongoing political and military violence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!