BackgroundA decade of conflict in Chechnya destroyed infrastructure and resulted in widespread exposure to violence. Amidst substantial reconstruction, periodic violence has contributed to an ongoing atmosphere of insecurity. We conducted a qualitative study to understand the mental health and psychosocial problems affecting adult Chechens in this context to inform development of assessment tools for an evaluation study related to individual counseling.MethodsData were collected in July 2014. A convenience sample of 59 Chechen adults was asked to Free List all problems affecting people in the area. Four problems were explored further in 19 Key Interviewee (KI) interviews, with respondents identified using snowball sampling. Data analysis was conducted in Russian by the Chechen interviewers.ResultsMultiple mental health and psychosocial problems emerged, including ‘bad psychological health’, ‘depression’, ‘stress and nervous people’, and ‘problems in the family’. Aggression, ‘emotional blowing’, and ‘not adequate’ behavior were frequently reported indicators of these problems, with negative effects on the whole family. Chechens reported seeking help through informal social networks, psychiatric and psychological services, and Islamic Centers.ConclusionChechens reported mental health and psychosocial problems similar to those experienced in other post-conflict settings. The description of ‘emotional blowing’ mirrored prior findings in Chechen asylum seekers and fits within a cluster of cultural concepts of distress featuring anger that has been identified in other conflict-affected populations. Further exploration of the nature and prevalence of this construct, as well as evaluations of interventions aimed at reducing these symptoms, is warranted.

The paper presents the results of a study of mental states in persons prosecuted for terrorist activities, as well as a comparative analysis of their indicators with a control group selected from among ordinary youth of the Chechen Republic. The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristics of mental states, as well as the leading signs of anxiety, aggressiveness, frustration and rigidity, taking into account the presence or absence of an individual's criminal past associated with terrorist activities. As part of the experiment, 67 people were interviewed, 32 of whom were in the past active participants in terrorist organizations banned on the territory of Russia and at the time of the study are under investigation or are already serving a sentence for committed crimes.

The article presents the results of a study of the relationship between aggressive behavior of an individual with the parameters of socio-ethnic intolerance and socio-psychological attitudes in the motivational-need-sphere of the individual, in the context of experiencing intense stress caused by a traumatic event. The study involved 118 people - representatives of the youth of the Chechen Republic in the age range from 18 to 25 years. The results of the study showed that aggressive forms of behavior are accompanied by an increase in the general level of social intolerance, which is one of the significant factors in the growth of tension in society, since the manifestation of disrespect and intolerance towards others in the context of interethnic and interfaith interaction is accompanied not only by the growth of conflict situations in society, but also provokes extremist ideas and forms of behavior. At the same time, certain forms of aggressive behavior tend to intensify when the individual experiences situations of a psycho-traumatic nature, associated with the development of intense stress reactions.

3% and 5.0% respectively; significantly, more boys misused marijuana (20.6%) than girls (12.2%) (Chi-square¼4.525; df¼1; P¼0.033). Conclusions: The prevalence of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance misuse between groups of medical and philosophy university students in BH seven years after the war quitted did not significantly differ. Girls presented significantly more PTSD prevalence than boys. Boys significantly more frequently were drinking alcohol and misused marijuana than girls.