Gender

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Salvadoran Women: Empirical Evidence and Description of Treatment

Citation:

Bowen, Deborah J., Lisa Carscadden, Kate Beighle, and India Fleming. 1992. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Salvadoran Women: Empirical Evidence and Description of Treatment." Women & Therapy 13 (3): 267-280.

Authors: Deborah J. Bowen, Lisa Carscadden, Kate Beighle, India Fleming

Abstract:

Previous research has documented post-traumatic stress disorder among Salvadoran refugees in this country, but information on refugees living in El Salvador is not available. This study investigated the patterns of psychological distress and documented the existence of PTSD in Salvadoran refugee women in El Salvador. A team of U.S. mental health workers traveled to a refugee camp in El Salvador to interviewwomen about their traumatic experiences and current symptoms of distress. This study provides strongevidence that many refugee women in El Salvador have developed PTSD and that many others show significant signs of distress. Data from this study also provided insight into clinical issues for Salvadoranwomen experiencing PTSD. In response to requests from Salvadoran mental health providers, a treatmentprogram was developed to help Salvadoran women reduce their distress. Goals of the treatment included associating distress with the trauma as a normal reaction to a very abnormal event, reducing feelings of loss of control, reducing "survivor guilt," and lessening anxiety and high arousal level. These goals were accomplished using cognitive-behavioral and community-oriented strategies.

Keywords: trauma, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, female refugees, mental health

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, PTSD, Trauma Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: El Salvador

Year: 1992

Women's Physical and Mental Health Sequellae of Wartime Service

Citation:

Bond, E. F. 2004. "Women's Physical and Mental Health Sequellae of Wartime Service." The Nursing Clinics of North America 39 (1): 53-68.

Author: E.F. Bond

Abstract:

War exposes soldiers to many risks; it is one of the most stressful known experiences. Increasing attention is being focused on the impact of war-related experiences on the health of the soldier. There is mounting evidence that men and women differ with respect to their health responses to stress exposure and other health challenges. However, most of our understanding of the effects of war on the subsequent health of the soldier is based on studies primarily or exclusively of men. Women have served as soldiers or support personnel in all US wars. In this article, health consequences of that service are explored. The purpose of this article is to (1) summarize evidence relating to war service and its impact on women's physical and mental health and (2) provide guidance for nurses caring for female soldiers and veterans. The information is based on a review of published and archived literature and on the observations of the author, who served as an army nurse at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, Long Binh, Vietnam, during 1 year (1970 to 1971) of the Vietnam War.

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Military Forces & Armed Groups Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2004

Sierra Leone's Former Child Soldiers: A Longitudinal Study of Risk, Protective Factors, and Mental Health

Citation:

Betancourt, Theresa S., Robert T. Brennan, Julia Rubin-Smith, Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, and Stephen E. Gilman. 2010. "Sierra Leone's Former Child Soldiers: A Longitudinal Study of Risk, Protective Factors, and Mental Health." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 49 (6): 606-15.

Authors: Theresa S. Betancourt, Robert T. Brennan, Julia Rubin-Smith, Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, Stephen E. Gilman

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal course of internalizing and externalizing problems and adaptive/prosocial behaviors among Sierra Leonean former child soldiers and whether postconflict factors contribute to adverse or resilient mental health outcomes.

METHOD: Male and female former child soldiers (N = 260, aged 10 to 17 years at baseline) were recruited from the roster of an non-governmental organization (NGO)-run Interim Care Center in Kono District and interviewed in 2002, 2004, and 2008. The retention rate was 69%. Linear growth models were used to investigate trends related to war and postconflict experiences.

RESULTS: The long-term mental health of former child soldiers was associated with war experiences and postconflict risk factors, which were partly mitigated by postconflict protective factors. Increases in externalizing behavior were associated with killing/injuring others during the war and postconflict stigma, whereas increased community acceptance was associated with decreases in externalizing problems (b = -1.09). High baseline levels of internalizing problems were associated with being raped, whereas increases were associated with younger involvement in armed groups and social and economic hardships. Improvements in internalizing problems were associated with higher levels of community acceptance and increases in community acceptance (b = -0.86). Decreases in adaptive/prosocial behaviors were associated with killing/injuring others during the war and postconflict stigma, but partially mitigated by social support, being in school and increased community acceptance (b = 1.93).

CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial interventions for former child soldiers may be more effective if they account for postconflict factors in addition to war exposures. Youth with accumulated risk factors, lack of protective factors, and persistent distress should be identified. Sustainable services to promote community acceptance, reduce stigma, and expand social supports and educational access are recommended.

Keywords: child soldiers, mental health

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Combatants, Child Soldiers, Gender, Girls, Boys, Health, Mental Health, Trauma, Military Forces & Armed Groups, NGOs, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, Rape, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Sierra Leone

Year: 2010

The Effect of Gender on the Stress Process of Israeli Soldiers During the Gulf War

Citation:

Bar-tal, Yoram, Orit Lurie, and Dov Glick. 1994. "The Effect of Gender on the Stress Process of Israeli Soldiers During the Gulf War." Anxiety, Stress & Coping 7 (3): 263-76.

Authors: Yoram Bar-tal, Orit Lurie, Dov Glick

Abstract:

The study of differences in responses to stress of males and females requires controlling for objective threat or harm. This is very hard to accomplish in field studies because of the different roles of adult males and females. The present study examined this problem in 350 unmarried enlisted male and female soldiers during the Gulf War. The stress, perception of coping effectiveness and psychological distress of subjects were assessed by questionnaires. Results of the interpersonal analysis reveal that females assessed the situation as more stressful, perceived their coping as more effective, and suffered from greater psychological distress than males. The intrapersonal analysis revealed that: (a) stress had stronger negative impact on females than on males, and (b) in two of the five coping strategies, perception of coping effectiveness had less positive effect for females than for males.

Keywords: female soldiers, male soldiers, mental health, stress

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, Male Combatants, Gender, Health, Mental Health, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Israel

Year: 1994

Differential Effects of Trauma on Spouses of Traumatized Households

Citation:

Baker, Ahmad M.,  and Nadera S. Kevorkian. 1995. "Differential Effects of Trauma on Spouses of Traumatized Households." Journal of Traumatic Stress 8 (1): 61-74.

Authors: Ahmad M. Baker, Nadera S. Kevorkian

Abstract:

The responses of 60 households subjected to varying degrees of traumatic events were examined. Specific attention was given to the differential effect that traumatic events have on spouses, especially in terms of general anxiety, state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, and other symptoms related to trauma. The findings showed that degree of traumatization was proportional to number and intensity of stress related symptoms. Mothers, however, manifested depression and anxiety levels twice as high as fathers. The validity of these results was discussed in terms of cultural beliefs and practices.

Keywords: family, mental health, anxiety, depression, trauma

Topics: Gender, Women, Men, Health, Mental Health, Trauma Regions: Middle East Countries: Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 1995

Civilian War-Zone Traumas, Complex PTSD, and Psychopathology: The Case of Kuwaiti Women

Citation:

Al-Rasheed, Malak. 2004. "Civilian War-Zone Traumas, Complex PTSD, and Psychopathology: The Case of Kuwaiti Women." PhD diss., University of Denver.

Author: Malak Al-Rasheed

Abstract:

Little is known about the long-term effects of civilian war-zone traumas on psychopathology and psychosocial functioning for Kuwaiti women, and none about the application of Herman's theory of complex PTSD cross culturally and across different traumatic scenarios. This dissertation examines exposure and severity of reactions to different war-traumas in relation to the development of complex PTSD and other psychopathological symptoms, and levels of psychosocial functioning among a random sample of Kuwaiti women (N = 683). Participants completed a survey instrument designed to gather demographic data, and measure variables of trauma exposure, complex PTSD, PTSD, different psychopathological symptoms, self-concept, and psychosocial functioning. The results showed higher prevalence rates of complex PTSD (85.6%) vs. PTSD (30%), and high overall psychological distress (75.4%). In addition, a significant relationship between exposure to war-zone traumas and the development of complex PTSDwas found. Finally, women with greater reactions to trauma had greater psychopathological symptoms, and lower psychosocial functioning levels. Severity of reactions to trauma, psychopathology, self-concept, and complex PTSDwere significant predictors of psychosocial functioning levels. The findings imply that expansion of Herman's complex PTSD theory to include war-zone traumas as another case of prolonged trauma is feasible. In addition, complex PTSD could be a better diagnostic category to capture the greater range of reactions to prolonged trauma thanPTSD. Other methodological and cultural validity issues were discussed as well.

Keywords: trauma, female civilians, posttraumatic stress disorder, mental health

Topics: Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, PTSD, Trauma Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Kuwait

Year: 2004

Impact of Deployment Length and Experience on the Well-Being of Male and Female Soldiers

Citation:

Adler, Amy B., Ann H. Huffman, Paul D. Bliese, and Carl A. Castro. 2005. "The Impact of Deployment Length and Experience on the Well-Being of Male and Female Soldiers." Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 10 (2): 121-137.

Authors: Amy B. Adler, Ann H. Huffman, Paul D. Bliese, Carl A. Castro

Abstract:

This study examined the effects of stressor duration (deployment length) and stressor novelty (no prior deployment experience) on the psychological health of male and female military personnel returning from a peacekeeping deployment. The sample consisted of men (n = 2,114) and women (n= 1,225) surveyed for symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. The results confirmed the hypotheses. Longer deployments and 1st-time deployments were associated with an increase in distress scores. However, the relationship between deployment length and increased distress was found only for male soldiers. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering the impact of exposure to long-term occupational stressors and confirm, in part, previous research that has demonstrated a different stress response pattern for men and women.

Keywords: male soldiers, female soldiers, mental health, peacekeeping

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, Male Combatants, Gender, Women, Men, Health, Mental Health, PTSD, Trauma, Livelihoods, Militarized Livelihoods, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Peacekeeping Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2005

Women's Role in Conflict Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Post Conflict Reconstruction: Literature Review and Institutional Analysis

Citation:

Bouta, Tsjeard, and Georg Fresrks. 2002. Women’s Role in Conflict Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Post Conflict Reconstruction: Literature Review and Institutional Analysis. The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations.

Authors: Tsjeard Bouta, Georg Fresrks

Topics: Conflict Prevention, Gender, Women, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Year: 2002

Women and the Genocidal Rape of Women: The Gender Dynamics of Gendered War Crimes

Citation:

Sjoberg, Laura. 2011. "Women and the Genocidal Rape of Women: The Gender Dynamics of Gendered War Crimes." In Confronting Global Gender Justice: Women's Lives, Human Rights, edited by Debra Bergoffen, Paula Ruth Gilbert, Tamara Harvey, and Connie L. McNeely, 21-34. New York: Routledge.

Author: Laura Sjoberg

Abstract:

Expanding on work from my 2007 book, Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics (with Caron Gentry), this chapter looks at the dynamics of women’s participation in the war crime of genocidal rape against other women. It asks both about why women participated and about how their participation was portrayed in media and scholarly accounts. The chapter looks at these questions by exploring five cases of women’s (alleged) commission of the war crime of genocidal rape. It concludes with a reformulated approach to the laws and norms against genocidal rape in the international community, taking account of women’s roles in the crime not only as (often) victims but also as (sometimes) perpetrators.

Annotation:

Quotes:

“This work, more often than not, defines genocidal rape as a crime where men are the perpetrators and women are the victims." (Sjoberg, 21)

“In previous work, Caron Gentry and I (2007) have identified these as the mother, monster, and whore narratives. The mother narratives feature women’s motherhood as a key motivator for their participation in violence. The mother narrative has two general strands – one that portrays women perpetrators of genocide as nurturing mothers, whose role in the conflict is to take care of and provide for their men – the fact that those men happen to be participating in genocide (and therefore nurturing them is too) does not change the women’s role in society or perception of their familial duty. The other strand of the mother narrative portrays women who commit genocide as vengeful mothers – avenging the deaths of their husbands, brothers, or fathers at the hand of those on the other side of the conflict.” (Sjoberg, 22-23)

“The second narrative we’ve identified is the monster narrative. This story of women’s motivation for involvement in genocide frames women perpetrators as severely psychologically disturbed. These stories tell women perpetrators as crazier and more monstrous than the men that they act with or alongside. Women’s monstrosity, in these stories, comes from the sort of irrational anger only women could have, or feelings of personal inadequacy coming from the inability to marry or have children.” (Sjoberg, 23) 

“The final narrative we’ve identified is the whore narrative. In the whore narrative, women’s participation in genocide is either defined by erotomania or erotic dysfunction. The erotomania story tells of women sexually obsessed with and therefore controlled by men – of women’s sexuality gone wrong and out of control. These women are portrayed as having committed genocide because their sex drive had gone out of control, and female sexuality at its worst is violent and brutal. The story of erotic dysfunction tells as story of a woman who has turned to violence because she is either unwilling to or unable to please men. These women are portrayed as having turned to violence because they were unable to function/serve as real women, which requires getting married and having children.” (Sjoberg, 23)  

“All of these stories about why women commit genocide share several things. First, they assume that the problem of why women commit genocide is a problem separate from the question of why men commit genocide (or even the question of why people generally commit genocide). Second, they preserve a distinction between women who are capable of violence and real or normal women who remain, as we have always assumed, more peaceful than men. Third, though real or normal women are seen as more peaceful than men, these stories depict women’s violence as the result of the excesses of femininity. Finally, these narratives imply that women cannot both be victims of genocide (as a class) and perpetrators of genocide (as individuals or as a group) – it has to be one or the other. Often, both in the public eye and in the academic literature, the identification of women as perpetrators has traded off with the recognition of women as victims.” (Sjoberg, 23)  

“Several accounts have also read women’s perpetration of genocide, genocidal rape, and other sexual crimes as a reversal of gender subordination – where women have become the perpetrators, and are therefore no longer the victims." (Sjoberg, 24)

“As such, the question of why women commit violence generally and genocide specifically is treated as a different question than the question of why men commit such violence. Women’s violence is often almost exclusively explained by gender-specific theories or gender-specified versions of traditional theories of individual violence. Women’s violence is explained as women’s violence rather than as women committing violence.”  (Sjoberg, 27)

“Their stories contradict the dominant narrative about what a woman is generally and about women’s capacity for violence specifically. Because their stories do not resonate with these inherited images of femininity, violent women are marginalized in political discourse. Their choices are rarely seen as choices, and, when they are, they are characterized as apolitical.” (Sjoberg, 27) 

“Those with a political interest in the gender order cannot hear or tell those stories of women’s participation in genocidal rape; instead, stories are produced and reproduced where women’s agency in their violence is denied and violent women are characterized as singular and abnormal aberrations.” (Sjoberg, 27) 

“If violent women are seen as different from what women as women should be, then their existence can be explained away without interrogating the fundamental problems with the stereotypical understanding of what women are – peaceful, virtuous, non-violent, etc.” (Sjoberg, 27)  

“In other words, in these accounts, women’s violence is worse (and to be feared more) than men’s violence, because women are naturally emotional and unpredictable as opposed to men’s presumed rationality and consistency, even in the commission of crimes.” (Sjoberg, 28) 

“Therefore, though they are a blight on the purity of femininity, women who commit genocidal rape or other sex-based crimes in genocide are described as being motivated by things that could only come from their status as women – what is abnormal to women is not their femininity, it is its uncontrolled status and extreme expression.” (Sjoberg, 28) 

“Finally, these stories of women’s participation in genocidal rape share that they either argue or imply that women’s perpetration of genocidal rape against women disrupts narratives of female victimhood….In other words, there are those who argue that women’s participation in violence signals the end of women’s victimization in war and genocide. Still, many of the women that were discussed in the five snapshots above sexually victimized women on the basis of gender. In other words, they perpetrated gender subordination.” (Sjoberg, 28)  

“Along with the implied naturalness of women’s subordination and the assumption of women’s incapability, we can see in the stereotyped reactions to women’s commission of sexual violence not only that women are expected not to violate other women – but also that there’s some normalness to men’s sexual violation of women.” (Sjoberg, 30) 

“The third step, then, is to reformulate international legal approaches to genocidal rape to accommodate the possibility of women perpetrators while still preserving the understanding that women are, as a class, victimized by genocidal rape based on gender.” (Sjoberg, 31)

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Genocide, Justice, War Crimes, Peace Processes, Sexual Violence, Female Perpetrators, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Africa, Central Africa, Europe, Balkans, Central Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Germany, Rwanda

Year: 2011

Battles on Women's Bodies: War, Rape, and Traumatisation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Citation:

Trenholm, Jill E., P. Olsson and B. M. Ahlberg. 2011. "Battles on Women's Bodies: War, Rape and Traumatisation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo." Global Public Health 6 (2): 139-52.

Authors: Jill E. Trenholm, P. Olsson, B.M. Ahlberg

Abstract:

Rape has been used as a weapon in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in unprecedented ways. Research into the phenomenon of war-rape is limited, particularly in this context. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of local leaders in eastern DRC concerning rape and raped women in the war context. Local leaders were chosen for their ability to both reflect and influence their constituencies. Interviews were conducted with 10 local leaders and transcripts subjected to qualitative content analysis.The study suggests that mass raping and the methods of perpetration created a chaos effectively destroying communities and the entire society and that humanitarian aid was often inappropriate. Furthermore, an exclusive focus on raped women missed the extent of traumatisation entire communities suffered. More significantly, the lack of political will, corruption, greed and inappropriate aid creates a tangled web serving to intensify the war. This complexity has implications for humanitarian interventions including public health.

Keywords: sexual violence, war rape, humanitarian aid

Annotation:

"Most rape survivors are assumed to be infected by HIV so rather than receiving an empathetic healing reception, according to the leaders, they are promptly ostracised from their communities." (143)

"Concern was expressed about the appropriateness of humanitarian aid. The impression was that the focus on aid and its agents, without assessment of the needs as expressed by the local people, serves to divert attention from critical precipitating factors….'someone arrives here with 5 million dollars, with his action plan, he has never asked the people what is the situation?'" (146)

"The leaders also pointed out the futility of international aid agencies providing simple things while, at the same time, the weapons used to terrorise originate from the very same countries." (146)

"The attention from the international community to raped women only was seen by leaders as a misreading of the local realities.  While the mostly male leaders' reaction could be interpreted as part of the continuing saga of 'the invisible woman', and may indeed be a gender-blind perspective of violence, the main message is how the entire society suffers from war-rape, yet little regard has been paid to this aspect. The emerging knowledge from this study is that an exclusive focus, however, limited, on raped women could miss the suffering and traumatisation of their partners and children." (148)

"An underlying theme of this study is the absence of criticism by the leaders regarding their state government's own responsibilities. Citizens in postcolonial countries that have historically lacked legitimacy/good governance often look to outsiders (the international community) for solutions (Brinkerhoff 2007). This lack of confidence in their own government's capabilities is not surprising in light of their history." (150)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Trauma, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Year: 2011

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