Introduction:During the war circumstances, women and children are exposed to multiple traumatic experiences, one of which is an violent disappearance of a family member.Goal:The aim of this research was to establish the presence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and somatization in women in Bosnia and Herzegovina who have sought their war missing family members for 15 to 18 years.Subjects and Methods:The research was based on a sample of 120 women with war missing family member and 40 women without a war missing family member as a control group. For assessment of depression, anxiety and symptoms of somatization the self-rating Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Somatic Symptoms Index (SSI) questionnaire and a general questionnaire on the sociodemographic data and data on war missing family members were used.Results:A significantly higher intensity of symptoms of depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001) and somatization (p = 0.013) was present in women with, in comparison to women without a missing family member. In comparison of the kinship with the missing family members, statistically significantly higher intensity of symptoms of depression, anxiety and somatization was in women with a missing child (p<0.001) in comparison to other missing family members.Conclusion:A prolonged period of seeking, waiting and uncertainty of what happened in the war with the missing family member presents for those women a prolonged suffering manifested through depression, anxiety and symptoms of somatization.

The incidence of CD in our region is demonstrating a steep rise and apparently low prevalence in our region is merely a result of poor availability of diagnostics in previous years.

The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency and intensity of symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatization, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women with experience of missing family members. The study included 80 women with experience of missing family members, who became missing during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 40 women with no experience of missing family members. During the research used were: Somatic Symptoms Inventory (SSI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A). Results: Women with experience of missing family members had significantly higher levels of anxiety (χ 2 = 21.96, P< 0.001), mean level symptoms of depression (F = 57.4, P< 0.001), and values of PTSD scores (F = 43.2, P< 0.001) than women with no experience of missing family member. In respect to the intensity of somatic symptoms among women with experience of missing members and women with no experience of missing member we found no significant difference (F = 0.21, P = 0.885). Women with experiences of missing sons and husbands showed significantly higher levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and symptoms of PTSD than women with experiences of other missing family members (P< 0.001). The results of this study indicate that women with experience of missing family members have a higher risk for developing depression, anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder than women with no experience of missing family members.