SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PTSD SYMPTOMS IN WAR-TRAUMATIZED WOMEN IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Objective: To determine the correlation between social support and PTSD symptoms in women traumatized by the war and postwar social insecurity in Herzegovina. Subjects and methods: The experimental group consisted of 187 randomly selected women living in Mostar, who were exposed to a wide spectrum of traumatic events during the war. The control group included 180 women living in the area surrounding Mostar who were not directly exposed to war destruction. Demographic data were obtained and a battery of psychological tests was used to measure the level of war traumatization and PTSD symptoms, along with the perception of social support. Results: Women in the experimental group had significantly lower levels of perceived social support from friends (t=2.91; p<0.05) and coworkers (t=2.30; p