6^th International Congress of WIAMH

Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 13-15, 1999.

PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF DESTRUCTION OF A FAMILY IN FORCED MIGRATION

Sead JAMAKOSMANOVIĆ

Clinic for Lung Illnesses and Tuberculosis, Clinical centre, Faculty of Medicine of the Tuzla University, 75 000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The project for this paper is attentive towards the aspect of psychosocial destruction of a family in forced migration. The research was done over two groups of displaced families and their members coming from Brčko and Srebrenica. The controlling group of domicile population was from the area of Gornja Tuzla. 364 families with 1165 family members were examined and interviewed in total. The group of domicile population featured 150 families with 528 family members. 8% of families within the displaced population group had one killed member of the family. It also had 5% more of single persons. 10% of families within the displaced families group had one killed member of the family. There are 5% more of single persons and 10% more of widowed and divorced persons within the DP group in comparison to the domicile population group. Subjective feeling of health problems is for 20% higher at the DP group. Social insecurity was measured by unemployment and it absolutely dominates within the DP group. More than 25% of the migration population and 20% of domiciles had never felt "full of life". The feeling of neurosis gains in progression and it is mostly expressed at the age group between 55 and 64 years of age – 40%. The same is with the feeling of depression, which dominates at the DP population in the age groups from 35 to 64 years of age. A number of disturbances in age, gender, psychosocial and biological structures of the families in forced migration were determined.

Key words: Forced Migration – Destruction of Family – Health Situation – Mental Health – Domicile Population

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