Abstract

Introduction: War is considered as one of the most horrifying human experiences. It is a complex, long lasting trauma composed of multiple stressors such as physical harm, intimidation, loss of loved ones, deprivation and abuse. Observations have depicted that over 2 billion people live in fragile conflict zones, driving 80% of the world’s humanitarian needs. The symptoms of depression can include Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, Loss of interest in daily activities, Appetite or weight changes, Sleep changes, Anger or irritability, Loss of energy.

The purpose of this study is to screen the symptoms of depression in the general population living in Srinagar which has been a conflict zone for the last 20 years. There is a need for intervention trials to establish evidence on mental health programs that have a positive impact on the mental health of the population in Jammu and Kashmir. It is hoped that there will be a greater commitment to the allocation of necessary resources for the development and trial of mental health interventions in the Kashmir Valley.

Objective: To Identify depression symptoms among the general population living in q conflict zone in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir

Material and Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 480 participants from various sections of society living in Srinagar, Kashmir. The study was conducted for a period of four months from January 2019 to April 2019.The Data was collected from Sher E Kashmir Institute Of Medical Sciences , Islamic University of Science and Technology and University of Kashmir; all three are located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The sample was taken through Non-Probability Purposive Sampling. A pre–structured questionnaire which was a modified Hopkins Symptoms Checklist ( HSCL-IV) was distributed among the participants. A Pilot study was conducted to assess the authenticity of the questionnaire. Data collected was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20, with 95% confidence interval. All Ethical considerations were observed.

Results: Regarding the age distribution, 67.7% of participants were aged 18 to 25 years, 21.7% aged 26 to 35 years, 7.3% aged 36 to 45 years, 2.5% aged 46 to 60 years and 0.6% aged more than 60 years. About 50.2% of participants were male and 49.8% were female. With respect to the participants’ place of residence, 78.5% of participants were from Srinagar, 6.9% were from Pulwama, 4.8% were from Shopian and Kulgam, 2.7% were from Anantnag and 2.3% were from Badgam. The level of education distribution depicted about 0.6 % were not formally educated , 0.8% had studied up until Primary, 2.9 % were matriculates, almost 46% were intermediate, 34.4 % had done their graduation and 15.2 had studied up until post graduate level. Regarding their marital status, 74.6 % were married and 25.4% were unmarried. 27.3% had an extended family set up while 72.7% had a nuclear family type of set up. With respect to the participants’ responses of Hopkins Symptoms Checklist, 93.1% had trouble keeping their mind on things that they did. 84.8% had more trouble with their memory than usual. 77.7% felt unusually tired every day. 74.2% found it hard to enjoy life. Of all the participants, 71.3% had a lot of different physical symptoms or unusual pains and 71.1% had been feeling emotionally numb, not caring, sad, unhappy or miserable. 71.3 % responded that they had been feeling more pessimistic or negative than usual whereas 70.2% said that they had lost interest or enjoyment in the things they normally did. 74.4% responded that they had been less motivated, less productive, or found it more difficult to cope than usual . 73.1% had been sleeping worse than usual. 68.5% responded that they had been less interested in talking to people or mixing with people than usual whereas another 68.5% also responded that they been more worried, nervous or uptight than usual. Among the participants, 71.5% had been more easily tearful, or crying more than usual. 67.5% had enjoyed their food less than usual. 59.4 % of the participants responded that their sexual interest had been less than usual. 75.8% had been less self-confident than usual. 76.7% had been more easily annoyed or more impatient than usual. To 71.5%, life seemed meaningless and 44.4% responded yes when asked whether dying looked like a good option.

Conclusion: The ongoing regional conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has resulted in widespread prevalence of symptoms of depression in the general population. There is an immediate need of starting interventional programs for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of a highly vulnerable population residing in a decades old conflict zone.

Key words: depression +symptoms+ conflict zone+ Intervention