Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2007 Nov;116(4):734-40.

The effects of torture-related injuries on long-term psychological distress in a Punjabi Sikh sample.

Division of General Internal Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Bellevue/New York University Program for Survivors of Torture, Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY, USA. andrew.rasmussen@med.nyu.edu

Significance:

It is well known that torture results in debilitating physical and mental health problems—but how these two consequences are related to one another is not yet understood. In this study, the authors found that in a sample of 116 Indian survivors of human rights violations, PTSD was directly related to chronic injuries sustained during torture, and not to torture alone. These findings suggest that medical attention for survivors of torture (and other physical trauma) is critical to reducing the severity of later psychological problems as well as to addressing medical needs per se.

Abstract:

Torture survivors often report chronic debilitating physical and psychological distress.

Prior research on the relationship between physical and psychological trauma suggests that the two are not independent. Injury sustained during torture may increase the likelihood of subsequent distress as either a moderator or mediator.

For long-term psychopathology in a sample of Punjabi Sikh survivors of human rights violations (N = 116), chronic injuries mediated the path between torture and posttraumatic stress disorder, specifically the severity of numbing symptoms.

Although injuries were associated with major depression, torture was not, and injuries did not moderate the relationship between major depression and torture. Chronic injuries may represent trauma severity or persistent traumatic cues. These findings emphasize connections between physical and psychological trauma and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to torture treatment. (c) 2007 APA

PMID: 18020719