Documents the nature, frequency, and psychological ramifications of war-related experiences among Bosnian children. Study subjects were more than 350 6- to 12-year-old internally displaced children and their parents living in collective centers run by the municipality of Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, during the war. While parents were surveyed about the extent of their children’s exposure to the war, children were surveyed for war-related distress symptoms. Findings demonstrated that virtually all the children had been exposed to close shelling, almost half of them had been separated from a parent, and more than one-third had witnessed the injury or killing of a parent or sibling. Those children who had fled their homes were likely to have had particularly traumatic war experiences. Among the psychological symptoms manifested by the children were posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, sadness, and guilt. However, these symptoms should be interpreted with caution because some psychological categories may not be applicable in the midst of war; for example, an increased startle reflex is in fact protective in a war zone. The findings also depict the remarkable resilience of children: two-thirds of the study participants reported a positive outlook on life despite having experienced harsh events at an early age.
