Self-assessment of well-being as an indicator of quality of life of former war prisoners – a Croatian study

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Title (croatian): Samoprocjena dobrobiti kao indikatora kvalitete života bivših ratnih zatočenika - Hrvatska studija
• Author: Mladen Lončar
• Author: Ivana Dijanić Plašć
• Author: Tomislav Bunjevac
• Author: Neven Henigsberg
• Author: Pero Hrabač
• Author: Ivana Groznica
• Author: Vesna Marčinko
• Author: Saša Jevtović
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; School of Medicine
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Clinical Medical Sciences

Abstract (english)

The impact of war on the population is vast, especially when it comes to those who were directly affected by war, among other things as concentration camp detainees. Because of the specific war experience of this population it is important to better understand the possible contribution of key socio-demographic variables, war traumatization and acute disturbances in mental health to their subjective assessment of their own well-being, which represents a psychological category and is based on a subjective assessment. The starting point is a theoretical precept according to which individual characteristics, together with war experience, can have repercussions on mental health, and eventually on the general well-being of an individual and their quality of life. The study comprised 184 participants who had given their informed consent for participation and filled out complete questionnaires. The participants were a convenience sample of male persons who had survived war captivity in the Homeland War in the period from 1991 to 1995. The study was conducted as part of the physical examinations at the University Hospital »Fran Mihaljevi}« in Zagreb. The data was collected using several self-evaluation measuring instruments one of which served to collect socio-demographic data, two to collect data on the participants’ mental health, one for the data on the participants’ combat and war experiences and one to assess the participants’ well-being. The data obtained suggest that only avoidance and arousal symptoms and psychosomatic difficulties are predictors of the well-being of persons who have experienced war captivity

Abstract (croatian)

Posljedice rata na građanstvo su ogromne, posebice kada su u pitanju oni građani koji su direktno bili pogođeni ratom, između ostalog i kao zatočenici logora. Zbog specifičnog ratnog iskustva ove populacije važno je što bolje razumjeti mogući doprinos ključnih sociodemografskih varijabli, ratne traumatizacije i aktualnih smetnji na planu mentalnog zdravlja njihovoj subjektivnoj procjeni vlastite dobrobiti, koja predstavlja psihološku kategoriju i temelji se na subjektivnoj procjeni. Polazište je teorijska postavka prema kojoj se individualna obilježja zajedno s ratnim iskustvom mogu odražavati na mentalno zdravlje, a u konačnici na opću dobrobit pojedinca, odnosno njegovu kvalitetu života. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 184 sudionika koji su dali informirani pristanak za sudjelovanje u istom, te koji su u cijelosti ispunili upitnike. Riječ je o prigodnom uzorku muških osoba koje su preživjele ratno zarobljeništvo u Domovinskom ratu u periodu od 1991. do 1995. godine. Ispitivanje je provedeno u sklopu sistematskih pregleda u KB »Fran Mihaljević« u Zagrebu u periodu od 2008. do 2009. godine. Podaci su prikupljeni korištenjem nekoliko samoocjenskih mjernih instrumenata od kojih je jedan služio prikupljanju sociodemografskih podataka, dva za prikupljanje podataka o mentalnom zdravlju sudionika, jedan za podatke o borbenim i ratnim iskustvima sudionika i jedan za procjenu dobrobiti sudionika. Dobiveni podaci ukazuju da su jedino simptomi izbjegavanja i pobuđenosti, te psihosomatske poteškoće prediktori dobrobiti osoba koje imaju iskustvo ratnog zatočeništva.

• Keywords (english): Adult; Croatia; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prisoners; Quality of Life / psychology; Self-Assessment; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Warfare
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Collegium Antropologicum
• Numbering: vol. 35, no. S. 1, pp. 199-204
• p-ISSN: 0350-6134
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:105:714742
• Publication: 2011-01
• Document URL: https://hrcak.srce.hr/64073
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2024-03-28 12:03:48