Longitudinal Study of Psychiatric Symptoms, Disability, Mortality, and Emigration Among Bosnian Refugees

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Abstract
The high prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in traumatized refugee and civilian populations is no longer invisible.1 Large-scale community studies using culturally validated instruments have been able to assess the psychiatric distress and disability associated with mass violence.2-4 Most of these studies have been limited by their cross-sectional design. Longitudinal studies are necessary to determine whether psychiatric disorders and their relationship to individual and environmental risk factors continue unabated or resolve themselves. Such studies can test the validity of the widely held hypothesis that psychiatric symptoms in refugee and civilian populations traumatized by mass violence are "normal" reactions to violence that spontaneously remit over time.5 Prospective studies can also help define the goals of prevention and treatment interventions aimed at reducing psychological distress and disability caused by war and ethnic conflict.