Risk and protective factors for the development of Posttraumatic stress disorder among civilians exposed to war trauma

This dissertation aims to analyze the existing literature on risk and protective factors that can influence the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in civilians in the war context. Wars, which have always had a destructive impact on humanity, are increasingly attracting the attention of researchers to understand their influence on people’s mental health and possible measures that can be used to help them cope with such devastating events. Several studies showed that not all people who experienced a traumatic event will develop PTSD. Risk level is assumed to be connected with the type/severity of an event and its duration, and personal background such as socio-economic status, level of education, early experience, etc. Based on such observations possible recommendations and implications on how to help people deal with a traumatic event were suggested. A literature review was conducted on articles reporting PTSD development and the factors that influence it. The literature search was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar search sources. To obtain potentially relevant studies, the following search terms were used: “post-traumatic stress disorder,” “war,” “prevalence,” “risk factors,” “protective factors,” and “civilians.” The studies retrieved from the search were considered only if they met all requirements. Sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity were not used for research exclusion. The research papers selected were those exploring factors influencing PTSD development, particularly in war contexts among civilians. Only studies where participants met the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD diagnosis were included. Articles had to be published between the years 2015 and 2024 and had to be written in the English language to match inclusion criteria.