ADOLESCENT SURVIVORS OF ETHNIC CLEANSING - OBSERVATIONS ON THE FIRST YEAR IN AMERICA

Objective: To describe the psychiatric assessments and trauma testimonies of 12 Bosnian adolescents newly resettled in America. Method: Twelve Bosnian adolescents who experienced the massive psychic trauma of ''ethnic cleansing'' were assessed during the first year after their resettlement in the United States. Assessments consisted of systematic, trauma-focused, clinical interviews that included standard assessment scales of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, as well as the opportunity to give testimony about their experiences. Results: PTSD was diagnosed in 25% of subjects and depressive disorders in 17%. Reexperiencing cluster symptoms were present in 50%, avoidance cluster symptoms in 31%, and hyperarousal cluster symptoms in 29%. Conclusions: The relatively low rate of PTSD in this sample (in comparison with adult survivors of ''ethnic cleansing'' and with Cambodian adolescent survivors) may be attributable to normal prior development, time-limited adversity, lack of physical or sexual traumas, rejoining nuclear families, or insufficient time for the development of delayed-onset PTSD. It may also be a reflection of the resiliency of adolescence.