A comparison of war experiences and war-related distress in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo

Objectives: To examine the relationship between war experiences and war-related distress in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo based on the South-East European Social Survey Project, with face-to-face interviews conducted during 2003/2004. Methods: The surveys included 15 items on war-related distress and 24 items on war experiences. We developed one-dimensional summated scales of war experiences and war-related distress. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between war-related distress and war experiences, controlling for other variables. The research questions were both at the country level and the individual level. We expected that two factors, time since the war, and the extensiveness and amount of suffering would determine differences among the countries in the average level of war-related distress. The findings did not quite conform to the expectations as the level of war-related distress was highest in Kosovo. As expected war experiences were the most important predictor of war-related distress in all three countries. Extensive or strong war experiences increased the level of war-related distress up to 5 points on a scale from 0 to 15.