The Sydney Holocaust study: Posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychosocial morbidity in an aged community sample

We investigated the psychological status and social functioning of Holocaust survivors. From 814 responses to a community survey of Jewish elders (aged 60 years or older), survivors (n = 100), refugees who had not experienced the Holocaust (n = 50), and Australian/English-born persons (n = 50), were randomly selected for semistructured interview, which included Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) assessment, ratings on the General Health Questionnaire, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Impact of Event Scale, Mini-Mental Status Examination, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Social Functioning. On all psychological measures, survivors were functioning worse than refugees and Australian/English-born persons. The 3 groups were similar in social and instrumental functioning. The more severe the trauma the greater the level of psychological morbidity. Despite normal social and daily functioning, psychological morbidity following massive trauma endures.