War-related Trauma and Stress Characteristics of American University of Beirut Students

An investigation of war-trauma was made utilizing an initial pool of 1,268 undergraduates at the American University of Beirut. Based on the number of war events the students had experienced, 400 students were invited to return for further questioning about their present stress characteristics. Inventories measuring anxiety, depression, and PTSD were administered to 273 students responding to the request. Those who experienced many war events scored significantly higher on all three stress scales. Women scored higher than men on anxiety regardless of war exposure category, but there was no difference between women and men on PTSD or depression.