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REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)
April 2006
REPORT TYPE
Final
DATES COVERED
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBERAmerican University of Beirut New York, New York 10017-2303
SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S)
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel CommandFort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5012
SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S)
DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENTApproved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
ABSTRACTThe Israeli occupation of the South of Lebanon has affected the mental and physical health of the people living in the region. The current research aimed at studying the exposure to war related traumatic events, establishing the prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and level of General Psychiatric Morbidity, as well as looking at some predictor variables for PTSD among the general population. The sample consisted of 256 randomly selected participants in two adjacent towns. The instruments used were the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The majority of the respondents had experienced one or more war-related traumatic events. The overall prevalence of PTSD was found to be 29.3%; among females the prevalence was 36.6% and among males 20.9%. The level of general psychiatric morbidity was high compared to studies in other countries. Both PTSD and psychiatric morbidity correlated highly with PTSD and general psychiatric morbidity. The main predictor for PTSD was the degree of exposure to traumatic events.15. Subject Terms (keywords previously assigned to proposal abstract or terms which apply to this award) traces on the psychological and physical health of the population in the area. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the exposure to traumatic events, the prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), general psychiatric morbidity and some modulating factors in a sample from the general population in South Lebanon. A survey on 256 persons was conducted in two adjacent towns in the formerly occupied r...