Objectives of the study were to determine an accurate estimate of the rate of Early Trauma (childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse and emotional and physical neglect) as measured by the CTQ instrument, amongst clients in contact with Mental Health Services in Aberdeen. To investigate the hypothesis that clients in contact with Mental Health Services in Aberdeen who report high levels of Early Trauma (as measured by the CTQ instrument), will have significantly higher levels of psychological distress, (as measured by the SCL-90-R instrument) than clients who report none or low levels of Early Trauma. To estimate the prevalence of personality disorder (as measured by the PDQ-4 instrument) amongst clients in contact with Mental Health Services in Aberdeen. To investigate the hypothesis that there is a significant association between Early Trauma (as measured by the CTQ instrument) and the presence of Personality Disorder (as measured by the PDQ-4 instrument) amongst clients in contact with Mental Health Services in Aberdeen. 136 inpatients at the Royal Cornhill Hospital were surveyed.  The survey used three questionnaires forming a structured interview: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R) and The Personality Disorder Questionnaire (PDQ-4). A high percentage (66%) of this inpatient population reported moderate/severe early trauma (ET): males (65%), females (68%), prevalence rates for early trauma were: Emotional Abuse 47% (64 inpatients), Physical Abuse 34% (46 inpatients), Sexual Abuse 34% (46 inpatients), Emotional Neglect 40% (55 inpatients), and Physical Neglect 25% (34 inpatients). Inpatients with high levels of ET did not report higher levels of psychological distress when compared to inpatients with none/low ET for all ET categories. Male inpatients who reported high levels of emotional abuse had significantly higher levels in global severity index values.  Female inpatients regardless of high or none/low levels ET, in all the categories, reported similar symptom levels. 70% of participants have significant personality disturbance: males (78%), females (60%), but only 21% of the participants who have significant personality disturbance have a recorded diagnosis of Personality Disorder (PD). This study shows that ET has a specific effect on males; for males, significant associations were found between PD and emotional abuse and physical abuse.  Males who reported high levels of emotional abuse also had significantly higher levels of overall psychological distress.

No / In this article we reflect on the relatively recent emphasis on Palestinian children's mental health and well-being in the context of exposure to chronic warlike conditions, as we position this trend within the larger framework of the generations-long history of political turmoil and suffering. We describe how a process that started with no attention to psychosocial health of children in relation to exposure to dispossession, expulsion, occupation, repression and military attacks, proceeded with a focus on presumed mental disorders, and the more recent approach of designing context appropriate and community-based psychosocial interventions.

Traumas due to war and displacement vary in size and intensity. Ideally, one would seek support or help from a therapist or society, however, due to circumstantial reasons, it’s mostly impossible for refugees to get proper help, for example because of the language factor, the absence of family and friends, or the pressure to integrate and move on. This project explores the role of design and art in shedding light on the topic, as well as applying principles of psychology to offer support and representation to its target group of Syrian refugees in Europe.