Edinburgh Napier University

  Background: Despite the long-standing ongoing war in Ukraine, information regarding war-related negative mental health outcomes in children is limited. A nationwide sample of parents in Ukraine was surveyed to assess posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in their children and to identify risk factors associated with child PTSD status.
Methods: A nationwide opportunistic sample of 1,238 parents reported on a single randomly chosen child within their household as part of The Mental Health of Parents and Children in Ukraine Study. Data were collected approximately six months after the war escalation in February 2022. The prevalence of PTSD was estimated using the parent-reported Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen (CATS).
Results: Based on parental reports, 17.5% of pre-schoolers and 12.6% of school-age children met DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. Delay in milestone development (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.38 – 4.08), having a parent affiliated with the emergency services or army (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.28 – 3.53), parental PTSD/Complex PTSD status (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.22 – 2.89), and mean changes in parental anxiety (AOR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.44 - 2.72) were among the strongest predictors were among the strongest predictors of increased risk of paediatric PTSD
Conclusion: Russia’s war escalation in Ukraine resulted in increased estimated prevalence of war-related PTSD in children of various ages. Urgent efforts to increase the capacity of National paediatric mental health services are critically needed to mitigate these challenges in an environment of limited financial and human resources.