Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack
ABSTRACTBackground: Levels of prolonged grief symptoms (PGS) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can be high, many years following bereavement after terror, but knowledge concerning somatic health is scarce. Terrorism is a serious public health challenge, and increased knowledge about long-ter...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2023.2300585 |
| _version_ | 1797356740408246272 |
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| author | Erik-Edwin Leonard Nordström Riittakerttu Kaltiala Pål Kristensen Jens C. Thimm |
| author_facet | Erik-Edwin Leonard Nordström Riittakerttu Kaltiala Pål Kristensen Jens C. Thimm |
| author_sort | Erik-Edwin Leonard Nordström |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTBackground: Levels of prolonged grief symptoms (PGS) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can be high, many years following bereavement after terror, but knowledge concerning somatic health is scarce. Terrorism is a serious public health challenge, and increased knowledge about long-term somatic symptoms and insomnia is essential for establishing follow-up interventions after terrorism bereavement.Objective: To study the prevalence of somatic symptoms and insomnia and their association with PGS, PTSS, and functional impairment among terrorism-bereaved parents and siblings.Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study included 122 bereaved individuals from the Utøya terror attack in Norway in 2011. The sample comprised 88 parents and 34 siblings aged 19 years and above (Mage = 49.7 years, SDage = 13.8 years, 59.8% females). The participants completed questionnaires 8 years after the attack assessing somatic symptoms (Children’s Somatic Symptoms Inventory) and insomnia (Bergen Insomnia Scale) along with measures of PGS (Inventory of Complicated Grief), PTSS (Impact of Event Scale–Revised), and functional impairment (Work and Social Adjustment Scale).Results: Fatigue was the most frequently reported somatic symptom (88% of females and 65% of males). Females reported statistically significantly more somatic symptoms than males. In total, 68% of the bereaved individuals scored above the cut-off for insomnia. There were no statistically significant gender differences for insomnia. Female gender, intrusion, and arousal were associated with somatic symptoms. Intrusion and somatic symptoms were associated with insomnia. Somatic symptoms, avoidance, and hyperarousal were associated with functional impairment.Conclusion: Many bereaved parents and siblings report somatic symptoms and insomnia eight years after the terror attack. Somatic symptoms are associated with functional impairment. Long-term follow-up and support after traumatic bereavement should focus on somatic symptoms and insomnia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:30:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-522d6416266b4be6bd73d8931ab0b266 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:30:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-522d6416266b4be6bd73d8931ab0b2662024-01-12T10:34:46ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662024-12-0115110.1080/20008066.2023.2300585Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attackErik-Edwin Leonard Nordström0Riittakerttu Kaltiala1Pål Kristensen2Jens C. Thimm3Center for Crisis Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayFaculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, FinlandCenter for Crisis Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayCenter for Crisis Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayABSTRACTBackground: Levels of prolonged grief symptoms (PGS) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can be high, many years following bereavement after terror, but knowledge concerning somatic health is scarce. Terrorism is a serious public health challenge, and increased knowledge about long-term somatic symptoms and insomnia is essential for establishing follow-up interventions after terrorism bereavement.Objective: To study the prevalence of somatic symptoms and insomnia and their association with PGS, PTSS, and functional impairment among terrorism-bereaved parents and siblings.Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study included 122 bereaved individuals from the Utøya terror attack in Norway in 2011. The sample comprised 88 parents and 34 siblings aged 19 years and above (Mage = 49.7 years, SDage = 13.8 years, 59.8% females). The participants completed questionnaires 8 years after the attack assessing somatic symptoms (Children’s Somatic Symptoms Inventory) and insomnia (Bergen Insomnia Scale) along with measures of PGS (Inventory of Complicated Grief), PTSS (Impact of Event Scale–Revised), and functional impairment (Work and Social Adjustment Scale).Results: Fatigue was the most frequently reported somatic symptom (88% of females and 65% of males). Females reported statistically significantly more somatic symptoms than males. In total, 68% of the bereaved individuals scored above the cut-off for insomnia. There were no statistically significant gender differences for insomnia. Female gender, intrusion, and arousal were associated with somatic symptoms. Intrusion and somatic symptoms were associated with insomnia. Somatic symptoms, avoidance, and hyperarousal were associated with functional impairment.Conclusion: Many bereaved parents and siblings report somatic symptoms and insomnia eight years after the terror attack. Somatic symptoms are associated with functional impairment. Long-term follow-up and support after traumatic bereavement should focus on somatic symptoms and insomnia.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2023.2300585Bereavementtraumatic griefsomatic symptomsinsomniaprolonged griefpost-traumatic stress |
| spellingShingle | Erik-Edwin Leonard Nordström Riittakerttu Kaltiala Pål Kristensen Jens C. Thimm Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack European Journal of Psychotraumatology Bereavement traumatic grief somatic symptoms insomnia prolonged grief post-traumatic stress |
| title | Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack |
| title_full | Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack |
| title_fullStr | Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack |
| title_full_unstemmed | Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack |
| title_short | Somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the Utøya terror attack |
| title_sort | somatic symptoms and insomnia among bereaved parents and siblings eight years after the utoya terror attack |
| topic | Bereavement traumatic grief somatic symptoms insomnia prolonged grief post-traumatic stress |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2023.2300585 |
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