Medicine
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/12
This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Effect of daily stressors and collective efficacy on post-traumatic stress symptoms among internally displaced persons in post-war northern Sri Lanka(Cambridge University Press, 2023) Somasundaram, D.; Jayasuriya, R.; Perera, R.; Thamotharampillai, U.; Wickremasinghe, R.; Tay, A.K.BACKGROUND: Daily stressors have been shown to mediate the relationship of war trauma and trauma-related distress among refugees and internally displaced persons exposed to war and conflict. AIMS: To examine the extent to which the relationship between war-related trauma and mental distress was mediated by daily stressors and collective efficacy among internally displaced communities a decade after exposure to war. METHOD: In a cross-sectional study, we recruited a random sample of residents in villages severely affected by conflict in five districts in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Measures of war trauma, daily stressors, collective efficacy and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were examined. Statistical analyses of the mediating and moderating effects of daily stressors were conducted using regression based methods. RESULTS: Daily stressors mediated the association of war trauma and PTSS, as both paths of the indirect effect, war trauma to daily stressors and daily stressors to PTSS, were significant. The predictive effect of war trauma on PTSS was positive and significant at moderate and high levels of daily stressors but not at low levels. Higher levels of neighbourhood informal social control, a component of collective efficacy, function as a protective factor to reduce effects of war trauma and daily stressors on mental distress in this population. CONCLUSIONS: Daily stressors are an important mediator in the well-established relationship between war exposure and traumatic stress among internally displaced persons, even a decade after the conflict. Mental health and psychosocial support programmes that aim to address mental distress among war-affected communities could reduce daily stressors and enhance collective efficacy in this context.Item Measuring mental well-being in Sri Lanka: validation of the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) in a Sinhala speaking community(BioMed Central, London, 2022) Perera, B.P.R.; Caldera, A.; Godamunne, P.; Stewart-Brown, S.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Jayasuriya, R.Background: Well-being is an important aspect of people's lives and can be considered as an index of social progress. The Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (WEMWBS) was developed to capture subjective mental well-being. It is a widely tested measure of mental well-being at the population level and has 14 items and a short-form with 7 items. This study was carried out to culturally validate and adapt the WEMWBS among a Sinhala speaking population in Sri Lanka. Methods: A forward and backward translation of the scale into Sinhala was done followed by a cognitive interview. The translated and culturally adapted scale and other mental health scales were administered to a sample of 294 persons between the ages of 17-73 using a paper-based version (n = 210) and an online survey (n = 84). Internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were tested. Construct validity, and convergent and discriminant validity were assessed using the total sample. Results: The translated questionnaire had good face and content validity. Internal consistency reliability was 0.91 and 0.84 for the 14-item and 7-item scales, respectively. Test-retest reliability over two weeks was satisfactory (Spearman r = 0.72 p < 0.001). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a one factor model. Convergent validity was assessed using WHO-5 well-being index (Spearman r = 0.67, p < 0.001), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) (Spearman r = (-0.45), p < 0.001) and Kessler psychological distress scale (K10) (Spearman r = (-0.55), p < 0.001). Conclusions: The translated and culturally adapted Sinhala version of the WEMWBS has acceptable psychometric properties to assess mental well-being at the population level among the Sinhala speaking population in Sri Lanka.