DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.29086543
title: Prevalence of war-related posttraumatic stress disorder in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

description: <b>Background:</b> Posttraumatic stress disorder is common in civilians who are currently experiencing, or who have experienced, war. Most previous studies have focused on adult populations and, despite the recognised detrimental effect of war trauma on adolescent mental health, there remains a paucity of evidence on the prevalence of war-related PTSD in adolescents. <b>Objective:</b> This pre-registered (https://osf.io/dqg2z) systematic review and meta-analysis aims to understand the prevalence of PTSD, as well as both risk and protective factors for developing PTSD, in adolescents aged 10–24 years from across the world who are experiencing, or have experienced, war-related traumatic events, described in papers published in a 10 year period (2013–2023). We also examine how the choice of PTSD diagnostic assessment tool influences prevalence rates. <b>Method:</b> Medline (PubMed), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), and PTSDpubs (ProQuest) were searched, which resulted in 21 papers eligible for inclusion. Data was searched, extracted and synthesised using the software tool Covidence. <b>Results:</b> The age range of adolescents in the included papers was 11–19 years. The average prevalence of PTSD was 29.4% (95% CI [18.7%, 43.0%]), although prevalence rates across studies were highly inconsistent (I<sup>2 </sup>= 99.4%). Prevalence rates were significantly higher in studies conducted longer after war exposure, and the PTSD diagnostic assessment tool used influenced prevalence. <b>Conclusions:</b> There is high prevalence of PTSD in adolescents during and after war. The prevalence of war-related PTSD increases with time in the post-war period, highlighting the need for access to psychological services following war. This study underscores the importance of defining age ranges and using validated and culturally sensitive assessment tools when interpreting prevalence rates of PTSD in adolescents. We examined the prevalence of PTSD, as well as both risk and protective factors for developing PTSD, in adolescents across the world who are experiencing, or have experienced, war-related traumatic events.The average prevalence of PTSD among adolescents who have experienced war-related traumatic events is 29.4% with higher prevalence rates in studies conducted longer after war exposure.The study underscores the importance of validated and culturally sensitive assessment tools when interpreting prevalence rates of PTSD, as well as developing psychological services for adolescents in the post-war period. We examined the prevalence of PTSD, as well as both risk and protective factors for developing PTSD, in adolescents across the world who are experiencing, or have experienced, war-related traumatic events. The average prevalence of PTSD among adolescents who have experienced war-related traumatic events is 29.4% with higher prevalence rates in studies conducted longer after war exposure. The study underscores the importance of validated and culturally sensitive assessment tools when interpreting prevalence rates of PTSD, as well as developing psychological services for adolescents in the post-war period.