Long-term psychological effects of war trauma and migration: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of Balkan war survivors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The wars following the breakup of Yugoslavia led to mass displacement, violence, and long-term psychological suffering among civilians. While clinical responses to war-related trauma and refugee experiences have been widely studied, less is known about how survivors make sense of these events decades later and how trauma and emigration continue to shape their identity, relationships, and wellbeing.

Objective

This study examines the long-term psychological impacts of war and migration among civilian survivors of the Balkan wars resettled in the Czech Republic, with attention to meaning-making processes decades after the original events.

Method

We conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four adult civ

SUBMITTER: Necasova M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12922406 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature