Philipp Kuwert and Harald J. Freyberger
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
War and Suicide. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2009, 306 pages.

Background: The aim of the study was to determine the amount of trauma impact and significant posttraumatic stress symptoms indicating a possible Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a sample of former German child soldiers of World War II. Methods: 103 participants were recruited by the press, then administered a modified Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS). Results: Subjects reported a high degree of trauma exposure. 4.9 % reported significant posttraumatic stress symptoms indicating a possible PTSD after WW II, 1.9 % until present. Conclusion: In line with other studies on child soldiers in actual conflict settings, our data document a high degree of trauma exposure during war. Surprisingly, the prevalence of significant posttraumatic stress symptoms indicating a possible PTSD was low, also compared to other groups of ageing longterm survivors of war trauma. Despite some limitations our data highlight the need for further studies to identify resilience and coping factors in traumatised child soldiers.