ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between war experiences and war-related distress in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia and Kosovo by means of the South-East European Social Survey Project (SEESSP) surveys conducted during the winter of 2003-2004. Independence for BiH was also strongly opposed by the Serbs who were simultaneously preparing for war. The Bosnian war, which started with the siege of Sarajevo by Serb paramilitary forces, was one of the most devastating wars in Europe since World War II. Serbian military tactics drove thousands of ethnic Albanians from their homes and this situation was seen as increasingly problematic in both the EU and the US. High level of war-related distress symptoms in Kosovo is in accordance with Cardozo et al. who investigated the mental health of Kosovar Albanians immediately following the war in Kosovo and one year after the war had finished. They found post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence rates of about 17 and 25 per cent respectively.
