%0 Journal Article
%T Somatic distress among Kosovar civilian war survivors: relationship to trauma exposure and the mediating role of experiential avoidance
%J Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
%D 2009
%A Morina, Nexhmedin
%A Ford, Julian D.
%A Risch, Anne Katrin
%A Morina, Besim
%A Stangier, Ulrich
%V 45
%N 12
%P 1167-1177
%X PURPOSE The current study examined the prevalence and correlates of somatic distress (SD) in the aftermath of war, and the role of a process hypothesized to contribute to posttraumatic stress: experiential avoidance. <br><br>METHODS Civilian war survivors (n = 163) from Kosovo were assessed in structured interviews, reporting on average more than ten types of traumatic war exposure. <br><br>RESULTS One in eight (12.9%) of the participants meet criteria for SD, which was associated with greater psychological distress, experiential avoidance, and lower quality of life after accounting for the effects of war-related variables, demographic variables, as well as posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive episode. Experiential avoidance partially mediated the association between SD and psychological distress and quality of life. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that SD is prevalent among war-exposed civilians and that experiential avoidance may be a significant factor in understanding and treating traumatized people who are experiencing SD.<p /><p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group
%@ 0933-7954
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0160-z