The psychological impact of genocide on the Yazidis

Frontiers in Psychology

Psychology

Laura Sennhauser¹  Thomas Berger¹  Jan Ilhan Kizilhan²  Thomas Wenzel³ 

[1] Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;University of Duhok, Duhok, Iraq;Institut for Transcultural Health Science, Cooperative State University Villingen-Schwenningen, Stuttgart, Germany;World Psychiatric Association, Scientific Section on Psychological Aspects of Persecution and Torture, Geneva, Switzerland;

关键词: refugee camps;    psychological stress;    genocide;    trauma;    Yazidi;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1074283

 received in 2022-11-07, accepted in 2023-02-28,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe genocide against the Yazidis by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) in the Sinjar area of Northern Iraq has costed many lives and has also caused a psychological long-term impact in this minority. This impact can be seen among individual survivors. Additionally, there is a large number of direct and indirect victims and for this reason, the impact can also be observed on the level of the group and society in this region at large.MethodologyThe research examines three different population groups (Yazidis members who had been exposed to violence by terrorist group actions, those not exposed to this experience as they were living in an area not directly exposed to ISIS violence, and a control group of non – Yazidi general population members). In total, 425 participants (age range 15–78) took part in the study and participated in interviews using standard scales to measure general physical and mental health.ResultsThe results demonstrate that psychological stress and suicidality are higher among the Yazidis survivors of violence than in the other Yazidi participants.ConclusionPsychological disorders after a genocide and war in post-conflict populations should receive more attention in the planning of mental health care and prevention and should be seen as a major problem, especially in camp settings and displaced persons besides the usual increased prevalence of posttraumatic stress and other disorders covered by research so far in this context.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Kizilhan, Berger, Sennhauser and Wenzel.