engleski

Coping strategies among Croatian War Veterans with PTSD, Using Alcohol and Tobacco

PTSD is mental disorder present from the beginning of the civilization, however it was only classified in DSM – III in 1980. The experts of that time considered mental problems of soldiers participating in the World War I as functional and described them with the term ‘shell shock’. Today, as DSM – IV is looking at the PTSD, it could be said that PTSD’s main diagnostic attribute is the symptom development after the exposure to the extreme traumatic stress in the event where the person was directly or potentially threatened to death or injury or in any other way his/ her integrity was endangered ; his/ her presence at dying, injuring or endangering other person’s physical integrity ; the person was informed about the sudden or violent death, injury, death threatened of a family member or a friend. The reaction on the event has to include intensive fear, feeling of helplessness and tremendousness. The outcome of the trauma exposure includes the repetitive thoughts of the traumatic event, avoidance of stimulation connected to the trauma, blunting of general reactions and continuous symptoms of increased stimulation. Clinical picture with all the symptoms has to be present more than one month, and the above listed disorders have to induce clinically important disorders or damage in social, working and other ways of functioning (according to DSM-IV, 1996). The symptoms and completely developed clinical picture of PTSD could occur immediately after the stress event or could be following soon. PTSD could be acute or chronic. In acute cases symptoms develop within six months and last up to six months. Most of the symptoms disappear spontaneously. If the disorder lasts more than six months it is called chronic PTSD. The sample comprised of 90 Croatian war veterans with PTSD. Self-Estimate Questionnaire was used, and it is consist of 15 items about their health habit, before and after war. This research was examined at Clinic for Psychological Medicine. Some other research found that people with some psychiatric diagnoses (depression, anxiety, etc.) often use some no mature coping strategies, using drugs for example. Results of this study indicate that 13.3% of war veterans have never smoked cigarettes before war, 24.4% were smoking rarely (1-5 cigarettes daily) 57.7% were smoking soberly (5-20 cigarettes daily) and 4.4% were smoking extremely (over 20 cigarettes daily). All subjects consume alcohol before war: 51% consumed alcohol occasionally (2-3 times per year, a few glasses of wine or beer), 30% consumed alcohol soberly (5-7 drinks per month) and 19% consumed alcohol extremely (2-3 drinks daily). After war that all subjects were smoking, 25.5% were smoking rarely and 17% were drinking rarely ; 56.6% were smoking occasionally and 51.5% were drinking occasionally and 17.9% were smoking and 31.5% were drinking extremely. All subjects reported that consuming those substances made them more relaxed and helped them to cope with all frustration situations during all day. It is showed increasing tendency for using alcohol and tobacco among Croatian war veterans and it could be good start for further research.

coping strategy ; PTSD ; war veterans ; alcohol ; tobacco

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