Posttrauma Symptoms in Poles Persecuted for Political Reasons, 1939–1968

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in individuals suffering from chronic untreated PTSD. The study population consisted of 329 politically persecuted Poles who had never been treated for PTSD. The severity of PTSD symptoms was assessed through a psychiatric examination and a Polish version of the civilian Mississippi PTSD Questionnaire. The results from our clinical examination correlated closely with those from the Mississippi PTSD Questionnaire. PTSD symptoms tended to be moderate or mild in severity. Politically persecuted people may demonstrate the full spectrum of posttraumatic symptoms decades after the trauma.

KEYWORDS:

• chronic
• long-term consequences
• political persecution
• PTSD
• untreated

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported in part by grants from the European Union and the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Krzysztof Rutkowski

Krzysztof Rutkowski is a specialist in psychiatry and a Jungian analyst. He is presently an associate professor at the Jagiellonian University Medical College and head of the Department of Psychotherapy. For many years, he has been involved in research on victims of political persecution and PTSD in Poland.

Edyta Dembińska

Edyta Dembińska is a specialist in psychiatry. She is presently an assistant in the Department of Psychotherapy at the Jagiellonian University Medical College. Her research and teaching fields are neurotic and personality disorders.

Jolanta Walczewska

Jolanta Walczewska is a specialist in internal medicine. She works as a clinician in the Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology at the Jagiellonian University Medical College. Her research interests focus on associations between psychological trauma and somatic disorders.