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To examine whether tattooed patients, treated for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by war at the Ward for Psycho-trauma of the Clinical Hospital Osijek, differ from non-tattooed patients by certain personality traits. The study was conducted on one hundred Croatian veterans who were divided into two groups with respect to the presence/ absence of tattoo. To assess the symptoms of PTSD, the Clinical Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-2) was used for all subjects. To assess personality traits the following psychology tests were applied: Purdue non-verbal IQ test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-1), and Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire (EPQ/A and EPQ/IVE). With respect to the examined pre-traumatic variables and PTSD symptoms, the two groups manifested no differences. The non-tattooed group achieved higher scores on the IQ test (IQ=100) than the tattooed group (IQ=95). EPQ test showed results either above or below the norms on all scales that were applied. The tattooed group demonstrated significantly higher levels of impulsiveness, adventurism, empathy and neuroticism than the non-tattooed one (p < 0.05). In the group of 100 Croatian veterans treated for PTSD, 33 had tattoos and 67 did not. The results indicated more impulsiveness, adventurism / risk behavior, empathy and neuroticism in the tattooed group than in the non-tattooed group, while there was no significant difference in the intensity of the PTSD symptoms.

Background: Behavioural investigation has become increasingly more focused on emotional intelligence as researchers strive to understand its influence on various social interactions. Recent research indicates that EI plays an integral role in adopting active and effective coping strategies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and coping strategies in patients with schizophrenia. Subjects and methods: The research included 102 stable patients with ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 46 (45.1%) female and 56 (54.9%) male patients, in the 18-55 age range (M=35.54; sd=10.48). All the participants completed the Questionnaire of Emotional Intelligence and Competence (UEK-45) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Results: Data were analysed using the correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis. The results showed that emotional intelligence correlates significantly with both task-oriented and avoidance-oriented strategies (including social diversion and distraction). Regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence can be a significant predictor for these two coping strategies (task-oriented and avoidance-oriented strategies (including social diversion and distraction)). Conclusion: Patients with lower emotional intelligence mainly use strategies focused on coping with their own emotions. These results may prompt the devising of prevention and treatment programs for patients suffering from schizophrenia. Namely, numerous studies and research on emotional intelligence show that emotional intelligence can be enhanced through learning and behaviour modification at any age.

Background: War captivity is one of the most difficult human experiences and can cause long-lasting effects on mental and physical health. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as one of the frequent consequences of war trauma, is often associated with the psychiatric and/or somatic comorbidity. Therefore, PTSD results in impaired Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). This study aimed to investigate the HRQoL in the Croatian Homeland War ex-POWs affected by PTSD, regarding the intensity of PTSD symptoms, sociodemographic characteristics and somatic comorbidity, and to identify predictors of poor HRQoL. Subjects and methods: The study sample consisted of two groups (45 participants each) based on whether they were POWs or not (control group). All study participants were diagnosed with PTSD according to the ICD-10 criteria and had combat experience as active participants in defence of the Republic of Croatia during the Homeland War. The subjects were evaluated using the sociodemographic questionnaire, PTSD self-report checklist (PCL-5) and Short Form (SF-36) Health Survey questionnaire. The data on participants' physical diseases were collected from medical anamnesis and medical records in the last five years. Results: In relation to ex-POWs, the control group had significantly smaller number of retirees, more unemployed persons, smaller number of married subjects, and higher number of divorced persons. Low socioeconomic status and intensity of PTSD symptoms has been confirmed as a significant predictor of impaired HRQoL in both subject groups. The most commonly PTSD associated physical diseases were musculosceletal, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal diseases. Endocrine and metabolic diseases were more frequent in the ex-POWs' group. Conclusions: PTSD was associated with the HRQoL, whether the veterans were ex-POWs or not. The hypothesis that exposure of ex-POWs to the trauma of captivity experience impaired HRQoL to a greater extent, compared to the non-detained veterans, was not confirmed. Low socioeconomic status has proved to be the most significant predictor of poorer HRQoL.

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