North has highest rates of post-traumatic stress

NORTHERN IRELAND has one of the highest rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in the world, according to new research.

Nearly one in 10 of the population (8.8 per cent) will have suffered from the condition at some stage, and 5.1 per cent are currently affected by it.

The incidence in Northern Ireland is well in excess of that seen in other conflict zones, most notably Israel, Lebanon and South Africa.

The research, carried out by the University of Ulster’s Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, found that two-thirds of people had been exposed to a situation that might bring on post-traumatic stress.

They ranged from conventional traumas, such as a sudden death or a car crash, to a bombing or a shooting. Of the two-thirds, 27 per cent (18 per of the whole population) had experienced directly the trauma of a Troubles-related incident.

The University of Ulster is now doing work with the Victims’ Commissioner to examine the impact of the Troubles in greater detail and find out where people are worst affected.

Staff from the Bamford Centre at the university’s Magee campus, in association with staff from the Commission for Victims and Survivors, the Centre for Trauma and Transformation, and the research department of the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health have now designed a study to examine these relationships more closely, especially how they relate to the Northern Ireland conflict.

Findings will directly inform advice to the Assembly government as part of the development of the new Victims and Survivors Service, which is due to open next April.

Former SDLP leader John Hume often remarked that proportionally the Troubles were among the worst conflicts in the world, accounting for the death of one person in 500 during the 25 years of conflict before the IRA ceasefire.

A total of 4,000 people were interviewed for the research making it the most comprehensive report to date about the impact of the Troubles on individuals in the North.