Depression, Somatization, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children Born of Occupation After World War II in Comparison With a General Population

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Marie KaiserH Glaesmer

Abstract

At the end of World War II and during the first decade after the war, roughly 200,000 children were fathered in intimate contacts between German women and foreign soldiers. The experiences of these German occupation children (GOC) have been so far described in case reports and from historical perspective only. Research on psychosocial consequences of growing up as a GOC has been missing so far. This study examined traumatic experiences, posttraumatic stress disorder, somatization, and depression in GOC (N = 146) using self-report instruments: Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire. Findings have then been compared with a representative birth cohort-matched sample from the German general population (N = 977). German occupation children showed significantly higher prevalence rates of most traumatic experiences, higher point prevalence rates of full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and somatization than the control group. In summary, GOC often grew up under difficult conditions (e.g., poverty, single mothers, and stigmatization). Even decades later, they showed higher rates of different mental disorders and higher comorbidity. These findings underline the complex and long-term impact ...Continue Reading

References

Aug 1, 1997·The American Journal of Psychiatry·M B SteinD R Forde
Sep 15, 2001·Journal of General Internal Medicine·K KroenkeJ B Williams
Mar 27, 2002·Psychosomatic Medicine·Kurt KroenkeJanet B W Williams
Jan 30, 2003·Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie·Naomi Breslau
May 7, 2004·Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplementum·J AlonsoUNKNOWN European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD) Project
Jun 3, 2004·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·Andreas MaerckerJürgen Margraf
Jun 20, 2006·European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience·Ulfert HapkeChristian Meyer
Sep 7, 2006·Psychological Assessment·Dorothee GrieselHerta Flor
Sep 25, 2007·General Hospital Psychiatry·Karin A WittkampfHenk C van Weert
May 3, 2008·The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry·Carsten SpitzerHans Joergen Grabe
Oct 17, 2009·Psychosomatic Medicine·Carsten SpitzerHans Joergen Grabe
Jul 16, 2015·Zeitschrift für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie·Marie KaiserHeide Glaesmer

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anxiety Disorders

Discover the latest research on anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder here.