Top

BMC Psychiatry

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Research article

Posttraumatic stress disorder correlates among internally displaced Yazidi population following Islamic state of Iraq and Syria attacks in Iraq

Authors: Perjan Hashim Taha, Nezar Ismet Taib, Hushyar Musa Sulaiman

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

In 2014, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took over one-third of Iraq. This study measured the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Iraqi Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and examined associated demographic and traumatic risk factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was carried out in April–June 2015 at the Khanke camp, northern Iraq. Trauma exposure and PTSD were measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (Iraqi version).

Results

Of 814 adult Yazidi IDPs, 34% screened positive for PTSD. Avoidance and intrusion symptoms had the highest means (M = 3.16, SD = 0.86 and M = 2.63, SD = 0.59 respectively). Associated factors of PTSD included exposure to a high number of traumatic events, unmet basic needs and having witnessed the destruction of residential or religious areas (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.02–1.9 and OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01–1.53 respectively). Being a widow was the only linked demographic factor (OR = 15.39, 95% CI: 3.02–78.39).

Conclusions

High traumatic exposure, specifically unmet basic needs and having witnessed destruction, was an important predictor of PTSD among Yazidi IDPs. These findings are important for mental health planning for IDPs in camps.

Higel L. Iraq’s displacement crisis: security and protection CEASEFIRE Centre for civilian rights. 2008. Available from: https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CEASEFIRE-report_ENGLISH_march-2016_210x297mm_WEB.pdf (Accessed 18 August 2020)

World Food Programme: WFP Iraq situation report #31. ReliefWeb. 2015. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/wfp-iraq-situation-report-31-1-december-2015 (Accessed 19 August 2020)

Ceri V, Özlü-Erkilic Z, Özer Ü, Yalcin M, Popow C, Akkaya-Kalayci T. Psychiatric symptoms and disorders among Yazidi children and adolescents immediately after forced migration following ISIS attacks. Neuropsychiatrie. 2016;30(3):145–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40211-016-0195-9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

cIbrahim H, Ertl V, Catani C, Ismail AA, Neuner F. Trauma and perceived social rejection among Yazidi women and girls who survived enslavement and genocide. BMC Med. 2018;16(1):154. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1140-5.

Georgiadou E, Morawa E, Erim Y. High manifestations of mental distress in arabic asylum seekers accommodated in collective centers for refugees in Germany. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(6):612. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060612.CrossRefPubMedCentral

Nesterko Y, Jäckle D, Friedrich M, Holzapfel L, Glaesmer H. Factors predicting symptoms of somatization, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-rated mental and physical health among recently arrived refugees in Germany. Confl Health. 2020;14(1):44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-020-00291-z.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Steel Z, Chey T, Silove D, Marnane C, Bryant RA, van Ommeren M. Association of torture and other potentially traumatic events with mental health outcomes among populations exposed to mass conflict and displacement. JAMA. 2009;302(5):537–49. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1132.CrossRef

American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 diagnostic classification: in: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Arlington: American Psychiatric Association; 2013. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.CrossRef

Close C, Kouvonen A, Bosqui T, Patel K, O'Reilly D, Donnelly M. The mental health and wellbeing of first generation migrants: a systematic-narrative review of reviews. Glob Health. 2016;12(1):47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-016-0187-3.CrossRef

10.

Brewin CR, Andrews B, Valentine JD. Meta-analysis of risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed adults. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000;68(5):748–66. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.5.748.CrossRefPubMed

11.

Phillips CJ, Leardmann CA, Gumbs GR, Smith B. Risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder among deployed US male marines. BMC Psychiatry. 2010;10(1):52. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-10-52.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

12.

Sulaiman HM, Taib NI, Taha PH. Posttraumatic stress disorder and psychological trauma in Syrian refugees in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan. Arab J Psychiatry. 2016;27(2):180–9. https://doi.org/10.12816/0029097.CrossRef

13.

Kurdistan Regional Government. 2015. Available from: http://www.senat.fr/fileadmin/Fichiers/Images/relations_internationales/Groupes_d_amitie/2019/4_Presentation_NAZAR_MOUSA.pdf (Accessed 20 Aug 2020)

14.

Reliefweb: Khanke camp profile - dahuk governorate, Iraq (September 2015) [EN/AR]. 2015. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/khanke-camp-profile-dahuk-governorate-iraq-september-2015-enar (Accessed 20 Aug 2020)

15.

Mollica RF, Caspi-Yavin Y, Bollini P, Truong T, Tor S, Lavelle J. The Harvard trauma questionnaire. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1992;180(2):111–6. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-199202000-00008.CrossRefPubMed

16.

Mollica R, Mcdonald L, Massagli M, Silove D. Measuring trauma, measuring torture: instructions and guidance on the utilization of the Harvard program in refugee Trauma's versions of the Hopkins symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and the Harvard trauma questionnaire (HTQ). Cambridge: Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma; 2004.

17.

Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, Iraqi Mental Health Professionals, Shoeb M. Harvard trauma questionnaire - Iraqi version – Arabic. 2006. Available from: http://www.healtorture.org/sites/healtorture.org/files/4 HTQ Arabic.pdf

18.

Shoeb M, Weinstein H, Mollica R. The harvard trauma questionnaire: adapting a cross-cultural instrument for measuring torture, trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in Iraqi refugees. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2007;53(5):447–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764007078362.CrossRefPubMed

19.

Arnetz BB, Broadbridge CL, Jamil H, Lumley MA, Pole N, Barkho E, et al. Specific trauma subtypes improve the predictive validity of the Harvard trauma questionnaire in Iraqi refugees. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014;16(6):1055–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-9995-9.

20.

Slewa-Younan S, Uribe Guajardo MG, Heriseanu A, Hasan T. A systematic review of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression amongst Iraqi refugees located in western countries. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015;17(4):1231–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0046-3.CrossRefPubMed

21.

Richa S, Herdane M, Dwaf A, Bou Khalil R, Haddad F, El Khoury R, et al. Trauma exposure and PTSD prevalence among Yazidi, Christian and Muslim asylum seekers and refugees displaced to Iraqi Kurdistan. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0233681.

22.

Tekin A, Karadağ H, Süleymanoğlu M, Tekin M, Kayran Y, Alpak G, et al. Prevalence and gender differences in symptomatology of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among Iraqi Yazidis displaced into Turkey. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2016;7(1):28556. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v7.28556.

23.

Nasıroğlu S, Çeri V. Posttraumatic stress and depression in Yazidi refugees. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2016;12:2941–8. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S119506.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

24.

Ibrahim H, Hassan CQ. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms resulting from torture and other traumatic events among Syrian Kurdish refugees in Kurdistan region, Iraq. Front Psychol. 2017;8:241.CrossRef

25.

El Sount CRO, Denkinger JK, Windthorst P, Nikendei C, Kindermann D, Renner V, et al. Psychological burden in female, Iraqi refugees who suffered extreme violence by the "islamic state": the perspective of care providers. Front Psychiatry. 2018;9:562. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00562.

26.

Tay AK, Mohsin M, Rees S, Steel Z, Tam N, Soares Z, et al. The factor structures and correlates of PTSD in post-conflict Timor-Leste: an analysis of the Harvard trauma questionnaire. BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1340-0.

27.

Alpak G, Unal A, Bulbul F, Sagaltici E, Bez Y, Altindag A, et al. Post-traumatic stress disorder among Syrian refugees in Turkey: a cross-sectional study. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2015;19(1):45–50. https://doi.org/10.3109/13651501.2014.961930.

28.

Taha PH, Abdurrahman SMH. Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress among Iraqi kurdish “anfal” survivors. Duhok Med J. 2020;14(1):77–91. https://doi.org/10.31386/dmj.2020.14.1.8.CrossRef

29.

van der Velden PG, Pijnappel B, van der Meulen E. Potentially traumatic events have negative and positive effects on loneliness, depending on PTSD-symptom levels: evidence from a population-based prospective comparative study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2018;53(2):195–206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1476-8.CrossRefPubMed

30.

Onrust SA, Cuijpers P. Mood and anxiety disorders in widowhood: a systematic review. Aging Ment Health. 2006;10(4):327–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860600638529.CrossRefPubMed

Title: Posttraumatic stress disorder correlates among internally displaced Yazidi population following Islamic state of Iraq and Syria attacks in Iraq
Authors: Perjan Hashim Taha
Nezar Ismet Taib
Hushyar Musa Sulaiman
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03299-8

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Posttraumatic stress disorder correlates among internally displaced Yazidi population following Islamic state of Iraq and Syria attacks in Iraq

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2021

Prevalence of and factors associated with acute withdrawal symptoms after 24 weeks of eszopiclone treatment in patients with chronic insomnia: a prospective, interventional study

Validation of the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen mental health problems among school-age children in Mongolia

The psychometric properties of the Bergen–Yale sex addiction scale for the Iranian population

Suicide attempt risks among hotline callers with and without the coronavirus disease 2019 related psychological distress: a case-control study

The effects of social comparison and depressive mood on adolescent social decision-making

The effect of online multimedia psychoeducational interventions on the resilience and perceived stress of hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a pilot cluster randomized parallel-controlled trial