Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Numerous studies on the health and functioning of veterans and former prisoners of war have shown that the experience of war captivity is one of the most difficult human experiences. Captivity is often characterized by extremely difficult and inhumane conditions, as well as exposure to various forms of both psychological and physical abuse. Such traumatic experiences can lead to serious psychological consequences that can last for years, even decades after release from captivity.
The aim of this paper is to present a brief overview of research that points to the specifics of wartime captivity and the long-term psychological consequences in veterans of former camp detainees, as well as the consequences suffered by their families and factors that, apart from the intensity of the trauma, contribute to the emergence and persistence of psychological disorders. Keywords: veterans, former prisoners of war, psychological consequences of captivity, predictors of psychological disorders, functioning in marriage and family.
Traumatic events can happen in any situation, but they are usually isolated incidents with a clear end, and the victim typically has a way out of the problem. In the case of captivity, the victim is exposed to repeated traumatic events and situations from which there is no way out, and the victim is entirely dependent on their abusers, who have tremendous power in these situations over the victim. At the same time, an imprisoned person never knows how long this terrible situation will last.
The captors, the abusers, control the entire life of the detainee, deciding what the victim will eat, when and if they will sleep, whether they will wear clothes, and whether they can communicate with anyone. Additionally, a detainee is exposed to various forms of abuse and torture, causing a sense of fear of imminent death, whereby the abuser decides whether to keep the detainee alive.
Captivity creates a dominant feeling of fear and loss of all autonomy, often leading, especially in the case of long-term captivity, to a loss of the will to live and a desire to end it.
