Children and War

Kosovo

©UNICEF/ HQ97-0179/Roger LeMoyne

Psychological distress among children and adolescents orphaned by the war

Dr. Nexhmedin Morina (University of Amsterdam) and Dr. Ulrike von Lersner (Free University, Berlin) concluded the study in 2009. They have investigated the mental health of 179 bereaved young adults and 175 non-bereaved young adults who experienced the Kosovo war a decade ago as children or adolescents. All bereaved participants reported the killing of the father during the war.

Results indicated that about 60 per cent of the orphaned young war survivors met criteria for either major depressive disorder or an anxiety disorder, as compared to 40 per cent of non-bereaved young war survivors. Among orphaned war survivors, participants with clinical symptoms of prolonged grief were three times more likely to suffer from either depression or an anxiety disorder and nearly eight times more likely to report current suicide risk. Furthermore, bereaved participants with clinical symptoms of prolonged grief reported significantly more somatic symptoms, higher general health distress, and higher scores of negative affect as compared to bereaved participants without such symptoms.

These findings indicate that being orphaned by the war during childhood or adolescence is associated with a high likelihood of depression, anxiety disorders, and other psychological distress in young adulthood.