Resilience After Trauma in Kosovo and Southeastern Europe: A Scoping Review

Exploring Resilience and Post-traumatic Growth Among Bereaved Adults in Kosovo

The study explores resilience and posttraumatic growth in adults in Kosovo who have experienced grief, using the Resilience Portfolio Model as a guiding framework. Twelve participants shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews, aiming to capture detailed personal narratives and insights into coping with loss. Thematic analysis of the data revealed three main themes: "Reaction to Loss," "Navigating through Loss and Embracing Adaptations," and "Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth." The findings highlight the transformative experiences contributing to personal development and resilience, emphasizing the significant role of cultural dimensions in shaping resilience and posttraumatic growth. The study underscores the importance of considering cultural context in therapeutic approaches to better support individuals in their recovery and growth from experiences of loss.

Exploring strengths, psychological functioning and youth victimization among American Indians and Alaska Natives in four southern states

BACKGROUND

Identifying factors that support healthy psychological functioning after experiencing violence or other adversities in youth can lead to better prevention and intervention efforts. This is particularly important among communities with disproportionately high rates of adversity resulting from legacies of social and political injustices, such as American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

METHODS

Data were pooled from four studies in the southern U.S. to examine a subsample of American Indian/Alaska Native participants (N = 147; mean age 28.54 years, SD = 16.3). Using the resilience portfolio model, we investigate the impact of three categories of psychosocial strengths (regulatory, meaning making, and interpersonal) on psychological functioning (subjective well-being and trauma symptoms), controlling for youth victimization, lifetime adversities, age, and gender.

RESULTS

In examining subjective well-being, the full model accounted for 52 % of the variance, with strengths explaining more variance than adversities (45 % vs 6 %). For trauma symptoms, the full model accounted for 28 % of the variance, with strengths and adversities accounting nearly equally for the variance (14 % and 13 %).

DISCUSSION

Psychological endurance and sense of purpose showed the most promise for bolstering subjective well-being while poly-strengths (having a diversity of multiple strengths) was most predictive of fewer trauma symptoms. Building psychosocial strengths offers promising strategies for prevention and intervention in Native nations and communities.

Associations of night eating with depressive symptoms among health sciences students living in a postconflict region

Populations affected by war may experience food insecurity, which could predispose them to eating disorders. A cross-sectional study was conducted among health sciences students in Northern Kosovo from November 2018 to March 2019. Data were collected using the sociodemographic Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The study sample comprised 534 students. The prevalence of students who had at least mild depression (BDI ≥ 10) was 20.6%. More frequent night eating was consistently associated with a higher EDI score in the total sample as well as in the subgroup of students whose EDI score was ≥ 10. In addition, having poorer sleep quality and having more anxiety symptoms were associated with having stronger depressive symptoms. In a population of health sciences students who live in a post-conflict region, night eating is associated with having stronger depressive symptoms.

Intergenerational trauma and war-induced PTSD in Kosovo: insights from the Albanian ethnic group

Introduction

War has profound and deep-rooted ramifications for individuals and societies. War-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in Kosovo. This study aimed to obtain insights into the prevalence of perceived PTSD symptoms and their relation to the traumatic experiences of two generations: parents (survivors of the Kosovo War) and youth (children born after the Kosovo War), with an emphasis on the Albanian ethnic group. These experiences were then compared to understand intergenerational trauma. The study also aimed to identify the factors affecting PTSD prevalence, the role of social support, and the participants' experience with mental health services.

Method

A total of 237 Kosovar Albanians (121 parents, 116 youth) from all seven districts of Kosovo were included in this study. Study variables were measured using the PTSD Checklist, the Life Events Checklist, Criterion A, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.

Results

The results revealed that the youth had significantly higher levels of perceived PTSD symptoms and lower levels of perceived support than their parents. Youth whose parents had PTSD were more prone to experiencing PTSD symptoms than those whose parents did not have PTSD. These youth also experienced significantly more traumatic situations, such as exposure to sudden violent death or accidental death, assault with a weapon, sexual assault, and captivity. Participants with perceived PTSD and lower perceived social support needed mental health interventions significantly more than those without PTSD symptoms.

Discussion

The findings emphasize the importance of addressing the intergenerational nature of PTSD and identifying factors affecting its prevalence, including social support and access to mental health services. The study underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to examine the complex and diverse nature of PTSD and its impact on individuals, families, and communities, especially in conflict-prone or conflict-affected societies.

Impact of the war in Ukraine on resilience, protective, and vulnerability factors

War or armed conflict is one of the most severe human-made adversities. The current study examines the resilience, protective, and vulnerability factors of a sample of Ukrainian civilians, during the current Russian-Ukrainian war. The level of resilience and coping indicators were compared with the responses of an Israeli sample following an armed conflict in May 2021. The data were collected by an internet panel company. A representative sample of Ukrainian residents (N = 1,001) responded to an online questionnaire. A stratified sampling method was employed regarding geographic distribution, gender, and age. The data concerning the Israeli population (N = 647) were also collected by an internet panel company during a recent armed conflict with Gaza (May 2021). Three notable results emerged in this study: (a) The Ukrainian sample reported significantly higher levels of the following: Distress symptoms, sense of danger, and perceived threats, compared with the Israeli sample. However, despite these harsh feelings, the Ukrainian respondents reported substantially higher levels of hope and societal resilience compared, to their Israeli counterparts, and somewhat higher individual and community resilience. (b) The protective factors of the respondents in Ukraine (level of hope, wellbeing, and morale), predicted the three types of resilience (individual, community, and social) better than the vulnerability factors (sense of danger, distress symptoms, and level of threats). (c) The best predictors of the three types of resilience were hope and wellbeing. (d) The demographic characteristics of the Ukrainian respondents hardly added to the prediction of the three types of resilience. It appears that a war that threatens the independence and sovereignty of a country may, under certain conditions, enhance the societal resilience and hope of the population under risk, despite a lower sense of wellbeing and higher levels of distress, sense of danger, and perceived threats.

Health-Related Quality of Life among American Indian and Alaska Native People: Exploring Associations with Adversities and Psychosocial Strengths

Identifying psychosocial strengths that support physical health can lead to better pathways to prevention and intervention. Relying on the resilience portfolio model as a conceptual framework, this study explores strengths in three domains (regulation, meaning making, and interpersonal) to identify promising protective factors to support physical health-related quality of life (P-HRQOL), controlling for prior exposure to adversity, age, and gender. This study uses data from four resilience portfolio model studies collected in the southern United States, combined to increase the number of people who identified as American Indian/Alaska Native. The sample included 147 people (M age = 28.5 years; SD = 16.26), of which 57 percent are female. The surveys collected data on adversities (polyvictimization, other adversities, county poverty), psychosocial strengths (psychological endurance, sense of purpose, religious meaning making, compassion, and community support), and P-HRQOL. The full model accounted for 24 percent of the variance in P-HRQOL, with strengths explaining more than twice as much variance as adversities (13 percent versus 6 percent). A sense of purpose showed the most promise for supporting P-HRQOL. Regarding implications, authors recommend exploring a wider range of protective factors that might improve resilience in Native communities. Several evidence-based pathways to meaning making, such as narrative and mindfulness, may improve health outcomes for Native people.