Internal and external factors of PTSD symptom onset and persistence in ancient victims of political persecution
Internal and external factors of PTSD symptom onset and persistence in ancient victims of political persecution

Summary/Abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTtSD) is a common reaction to the exposure to organized violence. Although posttraumatic symptoms tend to decrease over time, a significant number of organized violence survivors continue to experience symptoms of PTtSD even after decades. Tthis gave rise to the assumption that the traumatic severity as well as other pretraumatic, peritraumatic and posttraumatic factors may play a major role in the onset and maintenance of the posttraumatic symptoms as well as in the general mental health state of these victims. Factors of the onset and retention of PTtSD and of the current severity of depression, anxiety, and dissociative symptoms are examined in a sample of 59 elderly Romanian former political detainees. Detention-related variables, lifetime trauma, persecutions after release, and other objective and subjective aspects before, after imprisonment, and late in life were assessed as potential factors. Standardized instruments were used to diagnose PTtSD and to evaluate the severity of anxiety, depression, and dissociation symptoms. Tthe predictive effects of risk and protective factors for the onset and retention of PTtSD diagnosis were evaluated by means of univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Linear regression and variance analyses were used to estimate the factors of the symptom severity. PTtSD onset was related to predetention, detention, and postdetention factors, whereas its persistence into old age was mainly related to detention and postdetention variables. Both PTtSD outcomes are predicted by external, as well as internal variables. Political prisoners who experienced a higher number of maltreatments during detainment were more likely to have long‑time persistent PTtSD. Subjection to persecutions after release from detention was a main risk factor in the maintenance of PTtSD. Trauma-related variables predicted the severity of dissociation and to some extent that of anxiety, but not that of depression, which has major implications on the treatment of victims.

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