Posttraumatic symptomatology in children exposed to war

This study examines affective and behavioral symptomatology in two groups o f school-age children who were traumatized to different degrees during the war in Croatia (N = 1034). Six self-reported questionnaires were used to as sess the following: number and type of war experiences, PTSD symptoms, anxi ety, depression, psychosomatic symptoms, and psychosocial adaptation. Canon ical discriminant analysis yielded a significant discriminant function that indicates moderate differentiation between the two groups of children acco rding to the assessed symptoms. The results of a 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVAs (gender x age x level of traumatization) indicate that the children's reactions to w ar traumata varied in respect to all factors, as well as their interaction. The results indicate that gender differences are more prominent in older c hildren. Older girls report more posttraumatic stress reactions, anxiety an d depression, but at the same time seem better adapted than boys. Younger c hildren, particularly those who survived more war even report more PTSD sym ptoms than older children.