Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of the study was to assess levels of somatic and mental health distress, well-being, AS WELL AS utilization of primary and specialist health care services among war-related widowed and non-widowed female civilian survivors of war.Methods100 war-related widowed lone mothers and 106 non-widowed mothers who had experienced the Kosovo war ten years previously participated in the study. Measures of somatic, depressive, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and grief complaints, subjective well-being, and utilization of health care services during the previous three months were used.ResultsCompared to non-widowed mothers, widowed lone mothers reported significantly higher levels of somatic, depressive, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety complaints. Further, they reported significantly lower levels of subjective well-being as composed of positive and negative affect and satisfaction with life. More than half of both widowed and non-widowed mothers reported utilization of health care services during the last three months, without significant differences between the groups. However, only three percent of widowed lone mothers and four percent of non-bereaved mothers reported utilization of mental health services during the last three months, despite high levels of mental health distress especially among widowed lone mothers. Among widowed lone mothers, severity of prolonged grief symptoms significantly predicted number of contacts of specialist health care use over and above sociodemographic variables, number of war-related events, and other psychopathology.ConclusionWar-related widowed lone mothers suffer from elevated somatic and mental distress even a decade after the war. The tiny proportion of widowed lone mothers in use of mental health services can be seen as a reflection of lack of previous and current mental health services to meet mental health needs of this population.
Highlights
The aim of the study was to assess levels of somatic and mental health distress, well-being, AS WELL AS utilization of primary and specialist health care services among war-related widowed and non-widowed female civilian survivors of war
The aim of the current study was to assess current levels of somatic, depressive, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, grief, and subjective well-being among mothers who have experienced the war as civilians, have lost their husband due to war-related violence, and have been lone mothers since
There was no significant difference in number of war-related traumatic events between bereaved married mothers and widowed lone mothers
Summary
The aim of the study was to assess levels of somatic and mental health distress, well-being, AS WELL AS utilization of primary and specialist health care services among war-related widowed and non-widowed female civilian survivors of war. Research indicates that exposure to war-related traumatic experiences among civilian war survivors can lead to elevated rates of depression and anxiety disorders [2]. Despite the fact that killing defines the very nature of war like no other feature and despite growing evidence on the detrimental effect of bereavement, research on the impact of loss of family members due to war-related violence on mental health among civilian war survivors has only recently started to emerge [7,8,9,10]. Morina et al [9] reported that major depressive episode and anxiety disorders were significantly more prevalent among young adults who had lost their father due to war-related violence in childhood or adolescence than among a matched group of non-bereaved young adults who had experienced the war during childhood or adolescence
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