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Religious Moral Beliefs Inversely Related to Trauma Experiences Severity and Presented Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Bosnia and Herzegovina War Veterans

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the correlation of the level of religious moral beliefs (RMB) with trauma experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity in war veterans of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sample consists of 120 Bosnian war veterans divided into two equal groups—one with and one without PTSD. We used the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the RMB belief scale. We then correlated the severity of trauma experiences and PTSD symptoms with veterans’ scores on the RMB scale. The score on the RMB scale was negatively correlated to severity of trauma experiences and PTSD symptoms (Pearson’s r = −0.509, P = 0.004; Pearson’s r = −0.325, P < 0.001, respectively). The RMB may have protective role in the mental health stability of severely traumatized war veterans.

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Notes

  1. Historically, the Magnificent God, through His prophets, announced that it is forbidden to kill people, and such laws were more or less passed by all state or social organizations, with the aim to provide peace and freedom for all people. No explanation can be found for killing the innocent because anyone has right to live! But, there were always people who were disobeying this decrees and recommendations by committing crimes against other people. Therefore, certain category of these criminals is punished by death and in some jurisprudence this punishment is still preserved. In certain situations, such as defensive wars for example, human is forced to perform such an act, and even then must keep in mind the principles of humanity and justice.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by the Tuzla Canton Ministry for Culture, Sport and Education, University Clinical Center Tuzla, to whom we would like to express our gratefulness. Also, we would like to thank the war veterans and their officers (who were not clinically treated) that accepted to participate in this study. Thanks to Muhammed Hasanović for his valuable contributions in this manuscript. Particular thanks to Zoe Oakley for English language-editing.

Conflict of interest

We have no potential conflict of interest pertaining to this submission to the Journal of Religion and Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University Clinical Center Tuzla, Rate Dugonjića bb, 75 000, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Mevludin Hasanović & Izet Pajević

  2. School of Medicine of University of Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Mevludin Hasanović & Izet Pajević

  3. School of Islamic Pedagogy, University of Zenica, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Mevludin Hasanović & Izet Pajević

Authors
  1. Mevludin Hasanović
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  2. Izet Pajević
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Correspondence to Mevludin Hasanović.

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Hasanović, M., Pajević, I. Religious Moral Beliefs Inversely Related to Trauma Experiences Severity and Presented Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Bosnia and Herzegovina War Veterans. J Relig Health 54, 1403–1415 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9954-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9954-8

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