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Adolescent Adjustment, Caregiver-Adolescent Relationships, and Outlook Towards the Future in the Long-Term Aftermath of the Bosnian War

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Abstract

Using a mixed-method design with Bosnian students (n = 63, ages 16–19) and their primary caregivers (n = 50), we explored the impact of post-war adversities on adolescent adjustment, adolescent-caregiver relationships, and future outlook 8 years after the 1992–1995 Bosnian civil war. Adolescents and caregivers identified themes linking the war and its aftermath to ongoing emotional adjustment difficulties, relationships challenges, and negative future outlook. Adolescents’ posttraumatic stress symptoms were positively correlated with self-report measures of interpersonal stressors, existential stressors, parental psychological control, and anxious/withdrawn symptoms. Parental psychological control partially mediated the association between interpersonal post-war adversities and posttraumatic stress symptoms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait

    Reem Al-Sabah

  2. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

    John-Paul Legerski

  3. UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Christopher M. Layne & Robert S. Pynoos

  4. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Brian Isakson

  5. Electrotechnical School, Sarajevo, Bosnia

    Ranka Katalinski

  6. Teacher’s School, Sarajevo, Bosnia

    Hafiza Pasalic

  7. International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia

    Nina Bosankic

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  1. Reem Al-Sabah
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  2. John-Paul Legerski
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  3. Christopher M. Layne
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  8. Robert S. Pynoos
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Al-Sabah, R., Legerski, JP., Layne, C.M. et al. Adolescent Adjustment, Caregiver-Adolescent Relationships, and Outlook Towards the Future in the Long-Term Aftermath of the Bosnian War. Journ Child Adol Trauma 8, 45–60 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-014-0035-7

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