Acute Stress Disorder among 2022 Ukrainian war refugees: a cross-sectional study

Piotr Kordel; Marcin Rządeczka; Marta Studenna-Skrukwa; Katarzyna Kwiatkowska-Moskalewicz; Olga Goncharenko; Marcin Moskalewicz

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1280236

Acute Stress Disorder among 2022 Ukrainian war refugees: a cross-sectional study

Front Public Health. 2024 Mar 14:12:1280236. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1280236. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Piotr Kordel¹, Marcin Rządeczka^{2

3}, Marta Studenna-Skrukwa⁴, Katarzyna Kwiatkowska-Moskalewicz^{4

5}, Olga Goncharenko⁶, Marcin Moskalewicz^{1

2

7

3}

Affiliations

¹ Philosophy of Mental Health Unit, Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
² Institute of Philosophy, Marie Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland.
³ IDEAS NCBR, Warsaw, Poland.
⁴ Faculty of History, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
⁵ Department of History, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁶ Faculty of Social Sciences and Social Technologies, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine.
⁷ Psychiatric Clinic, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.

Abstract

Introduction: Fleeing from war can be terrifying and result in Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), a mental health condition that can occur in the first month after a traumatic event. The study aimed to identify the prevalence of ASD among Ukrainian refugees and identify its risk factors to create a profile of the most vulnerable refugees.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of 637 Ukrainian war-displaced persons and refugees in 2022 used the Acute Stress Disorder Scale.

Results: The prevalence of ASD among participants was high (93.5%). Several factors increasing the risk of developing ASD in the sample were identified, e.g., witnessing Russian attacks (OR 2.92, 95% CI 1.26-6.78), insufficient financial resources (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.61-7.91), and feeling of loneliness in the host country (OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.58-8.69). Pre-existing depression and the death of a close person, among others, were found to significantly (p < 0.05) exacerbate the ASD symptoms. At the same time, neither age, the distance traveled, time spent on fleeing the country, nor the type of companionship during refuge (escaping alone, with children, pets or the older adults) correlate with the severity of symptoms.

Conclusion: The study shows extreme levels of trauma among Ukrainian war refugees and displaced persons. Knowledge regarding ASD vulnerabilities in the present conflict may facilitate prompt and adequate psychological help. Since ASD can be an antecedent of PTSD and several autoimmune disorders, these results may also serve as a predictor of future challenges for Ukrainian society.

Keywords: Acute Stress Disorder; Ukraine; displaced persons; health; refugees; stress; trauma; war.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression / psychology
Humans
Refugees* / psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / etiology
Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute* / complications

Grants and funding

The authors declare that no direct financial support was received for the research, authorship, and publication of this article; Katarzyna Kwiatkowska- Moskalewicz was supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). Marcin Moskalewicz was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.