Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 45, Issue 6 , Pages 475-482 , November 2004

Complicated grief in Bosnian refugees: Associations with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression

  • Shakeh Momartin

      Affiliations

    • School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
    • Centre for Population Mental Health Research, South Western Sydney Area Health Services, Liverpool, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to Shakeh Momartin, Ph.D., Psychiatry Research and Teaching Unit, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales Health Services Building, Level 4, Liverpool 2170, Australia
    • ,
  • Derrick Silove

      Affiliations

    • School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
    • Centre for Population Mental Health Research, South Western Sydney Area Health Services, Liverpool, Australia
    • ,
  • Vijaya Manicavasagar

      Affiliations

    • School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
    • Centre for Population Mental Health Research, South Western Sydney Area Health Services, Liverpool, Australia
    • ,
  • Zachary Steel

      Affiliations

    • School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
    • Centre for Population Mental Health Research, South Western Sydney Area Health Services, Liverpool, Australia

References 

  1. Blake DD, Weathers FW, Nagy LM, Kaloupek D, Lauminzer G, Charney D, et al.  The development of a clinician administered PTSD scale. J Trauma Stress. 1995;8:75–90
  2. First MB, Spitzer RL, Gibbon M, Williams JBW. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (User’s Guide). New York, NY: American Psychiatric Press; 1997;
  3. Burnett PC, Middleton W, Raphael B, Martineck N. Measuring core bereavement phenomena. Psychol Med. 1997;27:49–57
  4. Silove D. The psychosocial effects of torture, mass human rights violations and refugee trauma; toward an integrated conceptual framework. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1999;187:200–207
  5. Mollica RF, McInnes K, Sarajlic N, Lavelle J, Sarajlic I, Massagli M. Disability associated with psychiatric comorbidity and health status in Bosnian refugees living in Croatia. JAMA. 1999;282:433–439
  6. Weine SM. When History Is a Nightmare (Lives and Memories of Ethnic-Cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press; 1999;
  7. Bureau of Immigration and Population Research . Settler Arrivals by Region/Country of Birth, by State of Intended Residence by Eligibility Category, for Financial Year. Australia: Canberra; 1998;
  8. Weine SM, Vojvoda D, Becker DF, McGlashan TH, Hodzic E, Laub D, et al.  PTSD symptoms in Bosnian refugees 1 year after resettlement in the United States. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:562–564
  9. Silove D. The crisis of Bosnian refugees in Australia (the challenge for psychiatry). Australas Psychiatry. 1994;2:216–218
  10. Horowitz MJ, Wilner N, Marmar C, Krupnick J. Pathological grief and the activation of latent self-images. Am J Psychiatry. 1980;137:1157–1163
  11. Freud S. Mourning and Melancholia. In: Complete Psychological Works, standard ed. London, UK: Hogarth Press; 1917; vol. 14
  12. Clayton PJ. Bereavement. In:  Paykel ES editors. Handbook of Affective Disorder. New York, NY: Guilford; 1982;p. 125–212
  13. Horowitz MJ. Stress response syndromes (character style and dynamic psychotherapy). Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1974;31:768–781
  14. Horowitz MJ, Siegel B, Holen A, Bonanno GA, Millbrath C, Chalres H. Diagnostic criteria complicated grief disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1997;154:904–910
  15. Milton V. Grief (normal and pathological variants). Am J Psychiatry. 1995;152:1–4
  16. Prigerson HG, Frank E, Kasl SV, Reynolds CF, Anderson B, Zubenko GS, et al.  Complicated grief and bereavement-related depression as distinct disorders (preliminary empirical validation in elderly bereaved spouses). Am J Psychiatry. 1995;152:22–30
  17. Prigerson HG, Bierhals AJ, Kasl SV, Reynolds CF, Shear MK, Newsom JT, et al.  Complicated grief as a disorder distinct from bereavement-related depression and anxiety (a replication study). Am J Psychiatry. 1996;153:1484–1486
  18. Prigerson HG, Rosenneck RA, Maciejewski PK. Criteria for traumatic grief and PTSD. Br J Psychiatry. 1999;174:560–561
  19. Sanders CM. Risk factors in bereavement outcome. J Social Issues. 1988;44:97–111
  20. Clayton P. Bereavement and depression. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990;125:168–178
  21. Middleton W, Raphael R, Martinek N. Pathological grief reactions. In:  Stroebe MS,  Stroebe W,  Hanson RO editor. Handbook of Bereavement (Theory, Research and Interventions). New York, NY: Wiley; 1993;p. 44–62
  22. Pynoos R, Eth S. Witness to violence (the child interview). J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1986;25:306–319
  23. Kim K, Jacobs S. Pathologic grief and its relationship to other psychiatric disorders. J Affect Disord. 1991;21:257–263
  24. Miller KE, Weine SM, Ramic A, Brkic N, Djuric Bjedi Z, Smajkic A, et al.  The relative contribution of war experiences and exile-related stressors to levels of psychological distress among Bosnian refugees. J Trauma Stress. 2002;15:377–387
  25. Gorst-Unsworth C, Goldenberg E. Psychological sequelae of torture and organized violence suffered by refugees from Iraq. Trauma-related factors compared with social factors in exile. Br J Psychiatry. 1998;172:90–94
  26. Momartin S, Silove D, Manicavasagar V, Steel Z. Dimensions of trauma associated with PTSD caseness, severity and functional impairment (a study of Bosnian refugees resettled in Australia). J Soc Sci Med. 2003;80:231–238
  27. Momartin S, Silove D, Manicavasagar V, Steel Z. Comorbidity of PTSD and depression (associations with trauma exposure, symptoms severity and functional impairmnent in Bosnian refugees). J Affect Disord. 2004;80:231–238
  28. Arcel LT, Folnegovic-Smalc V, Kozaric-Kovacic D, Marusic A. Psycho-Social Help to War Victims (Women Refugees and Their Families). Copenhagen, Denmark: International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims; 1995;
  29. Weine SM, Becker DF, McGlashan TH, Laub D, Lazrove S, Vojvoda D, et al.  Psychiatric consequences of “ethnic cleansing” (clinical assessments and trauma testimonies of newly resettled Bosnian refugees). Am J Psychiatry. 1995;152:536–542
  30. Faugier J, Sargeant M. Sampling hard to reach populations. Adv Nurs. 1997;26:790–797
  31. Hendricks VM, Blanken P. Snowball sampling (theoretical and practical considerations). In:  Hendricks VM,  Blanken P,  Adriaans N editor. Snowball Sampling (A Pilot Study on Cocaine Use). Rotterdam: the Netherlands: Instituut Voor Onderzoek IVO; 1992;p. 17–35
  32. Blake DD. Rational and development of the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. PTSD Res Q. 1994;5:1–6
  33. Schnyder U, Moergeli H. German version of Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. J Trauma Stress. 2002;15:487–492
  34. Hirohata S, Konishi T, Shirakawa M, Asakawa C, Morita N, Nakatani Y. Posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of sexual assault-related to depression or physical symptoms. Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi Psychitrica Neurol Jpn. 2002;104:529–550
  35. Yehuda R, Elkin A, Iner-Byrnes K, Kahana B, Southwick SM, Schmeidler J, et al.  Dissociation in aging Holocaust survivors. Am J Psychiatry. 1996;153:935–940
  36. Malekzaie AS, Niazi JM, Paige SR, Hendricks SE, Fitzaptrick D, Leuschen MP, et al.  Modification of CAPS-1 for diagnosis of PTSD in Afghan refugees. J Trauma Stress. 1996;9:891–898
  37. American Psychiatric Association . In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Ed. 4. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1994;
  38. Williams JBW, Gibbon M, First MB. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID):II. Multisite test-retest reliability. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992;49:630–636
  39. Alnaes R, Torgersen S. The relationship between DSM-III symptom disorders (axis I) and personality disorders (axis II) in an outpatient population. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1998;78:385–492
  40. Skre I, Onstad S, Torgersen S. High interrater reliability for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Axis I (SCID-I). Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1991;84:167–173
  41. Middleton W, Raphael B, Burnett P, Martinek N. Psychological distress and bereavement. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1997;185:447–453
  42. Bontempo R. Translation fidelity of psychological scales (an item response theory analysis of an individualism vs collectivism scale). J Crosscult Psychol. 1993;24:149–166
  43. Dunningan T, McNall M, Mortimer JT. The problems of metaphorical nonequivalence in cross-cultural survey research (comparing the mental health status of Hmong refugee and general population adolescents). J Crosscult Psychol. 1993;24:344–365
  44. Momartin S, Silove D, Manicavasagar V, Steel Z. Range and dimensions of trauma experienced by Bosnian refugees resettled in Australia. Aust Psychologist. 2002;37:149–155
  45. Favaro A, Maiorani A, Colombo G, Santonastaso P. Traumatic experiences, posttraumatic stress disorder, and dissociative symptoms in a group of refugees from former Yugoslavia. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1999;187:306–308
  46. Weine SM, Vojvoda D, Becker DF, McGlashan TH, Hodzic E, Laub D, et al.  PTSD symptoms in Bosnian refugees 1 year after resettlement in the United States. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:562–564
  47. Zisook S, Chentsova-Dutton Y, Shuchter SR. PTSD following bereavement. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 1998;10:157–163
  48. Schut HA, de Keijser J, Van den Bout J, Dijkhuis JH. Post-traumatic stress symptoms in the first years of conjugal bereavement. Anxiety Res. 1992;4:225–234
  49. Brent DA, Perper JA, Moritz G, Allman C. Bereavement or depression? The impact of the loss of a friend to suicide. J Am Acad Child Adolescent Psychiatry. 1994;32:1189–1197
  50. Southwick SM, Morgan C, Andrew I, Nicolaou AL, Charney DS. Consistency of memory for combat-related traumatic events in veterans of Operation Desert Storm. Am J Psychiatry. 1997;54:173–177
  51. Thulesius H, Hakannson A. Screening for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among Bosnian refugees. J Trauma Stress. 1999;12:167–207
  52. Danner M. America and the Bosnian genocide. New York Review. 1997;Vol. XLIV:18
  53. Stroebe W, Stroebe MS. Bereavement and Health. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; 1987;
  54. Marwit SJ. DSM-III-R, grief reactions and a call for revision. Prof Psychol Res Pract. 1991;22:75–79
  55. Mollica R, Henderson DC, Tor S. Psychiatric effects of traumatic brain injury events in Cambodian survivors of mass violence. Br J Psychiatry. 2002;81:339–347

PII: S0010-440X(04)00093-8

doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2004.07.013

Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 45, Issue 6 , Pages 475-482 , November 2004

Article Tools