Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Itziar Familiar; Brian Hall; Tom Bundervoet; Philip Verwimp; Judith Bass

doi:10.1007/s10597-015-9902-4

Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Itziar Familiar, Brian Hall, Tom Bundervoet, Philip Verwimp, Judith Bass

Bloomberg School of Public Health

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

We assessed symptoms of psychological distress among a population-based sample of 9000-plus adults in Burundi during (1998) and after (2007) armed conflict. After exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to an 8-item, self-report measure, we identified two domains of psychological distress “Depression/Anxiety” and “Functioning” with good fit to data. The questionnaire was invariant in males and females. Depression and Anxiety symptoms during conflict were more frequently reported than Functioning symptoms; all symptoms were more frequently reported by women. Psychological distress was found in 44 % of individuals during conflict and in 29 % 2 years after the conflict. Results call for further research in Burundi that can inform the development of mental health interventions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	32-38
Number of pages	7
Journal	Community Mental Health Journal
Volume	52
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9902-4
State	Published - Jan 1 2016

Keywords

Anxiety
Armed conflict
Burundi
Depression
Factor analysis
Functioning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health(social science)
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Psychiatry and Mental health

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10.1007/s10597-015-9902-4

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Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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