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The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: Adapting a Cross-Cultural Instrument for Measuring Torture, Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Iraqi Refugees

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  • Marwa Shoeb

    (University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA, marwa.shoeb@ucsf.edu)

  • Harvey Weinstein

    (Human Rights Center and Clinical Professor, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Richard Mollica

    (Department of Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA)

Abstract

Background: Mental health assessments in post-conflict zones have relied heavily on Western psychiatric scales. Yet, a strict dependence on the paradigms of Western psychiatry risks inappropriately prioritizing syndromes, such as PTSD, which, however important, are eclipsed by local concerns. Material and discussion: In Dearborn, Michigan, home to the largest population of Iraqi refugees in the United States, 60 Iraqi refugee life stories were collected in order to adapt the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) to the Iraqi context. Conclusion: The methodology described proved to be a useful approach to developing a trauma measure that is culturally grounded in a multi-dimensional model of mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Marwa Shoeb & Harvey Weinstein & Richard Mollica, 2007. "The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: Adapting a Cross-Cultural Instrument for Measuring Torture, Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Iraqi Refugees," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 53(5), pages 447-463, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:53:y:2007:i:5:p:447-463
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764007078362
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Summerfield, Derek, 1999. "A critique of seven assumptions behind psychological trauma programmes in war-affected areas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(10), pages 1449-1462, May.
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