Psychiatric Morbidity Among Victims of Terrorist Attacks

Comparative Study

Abstract

To assess the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); mood state; (state of depression, anxiety and stress) and its impact on general health among victims of terrorist attacks (mild injuries, severe injuries & amputation) in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This research was a cross sectional correlational study conducted on three groups of admitted patients; those injured in the attacks (with mild injuries, severe injuries & severe injuries along-with amputation) after one week during the period of November 2021 to September 2022, who had direct exposure to terrorist attacks and seek treatment from combined military hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. The sample included all the survivors who sought medical assistance from the hospital. Questionnaire included Impact of event scale revised (IES-R 22) General health questionnaire (GHQ-12), and Depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21). PTSD has positive association with Depression anxiety and stress and negative association with General health among terrorists’ attack victims. The terrorist attacks victims had significantly higher psychiatric morbidity than non-exposed participants. Psychiatric morbidity was found to be highest in the victims of survivors of bomb blasts.