A study published by AAB staff in the prestigious Springer Nature journal has brought findings of great scientific and social importance, analyzing how traumatic experiences during childhood, related to the Kosovo War (1998–1999), affect personality, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood.
The study included 355 university students, who were 2–8 years old during the war and had an average age of 20.6 years at the time of data collection (October 2015).
The study, authored by AAB College Professor Naim Telaku, finds that over 13 percent of participants met the criteria for PTSD, while about 40 percent have war-related trauma, emphasizing that early experiences have left deep traces. Of these results, the fact that about 50 percent of respondents who were children during the war now have symptoms of depression is also worrying.
These results emphasize that trauma experienced during childhood is not limited to distant memories, but has real consequences on the mental health and personality development of today’s adult generations.
The full study can be read in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma
