Prevalence and Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among Internally Displaced and Undisplaced Children.

Abstract

The present study was aimed to explore the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder among internally displaced and undisplaced children. It was hypothesized that prevalence of PTSD, anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior, and aggression will be high in internally displaced children whereas their self concept will be low than undisplaced children. IDP children will show greater number of emotional indicators than undsiplaced children on HFD test and IDP children will also show greater number of aggressive emotional indicators than undisplaced children on HFD test. Children who will receive treatment intervention will recover quickly than those who will not receive treatment intervention. Three scales Human Figure Drawing test, Beck Youth Inventory, for children and adolescents, and PTSD evaluation scale Children and Adolescent Questionnaire were used. Sample comprised of 192 internally displaced and 90 undisplaced children. Children who reported higher levels of PTSD, anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior, aggression and lower levels of self concept were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups to assess the effects of interventions i.e. Art therapy and Behavior therapy i.e. deep muscle relaxation technique were used as intervention treatment. The results supported the hypothesis. It was found that traumatic experiences of war and displacement caused serious psychological problems in children and it was also found that Art therapy and Behavior therapy technique proved helpful in treating children who were war victims.