Characteristics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Witnesses to Victims of Self-Immolation

In some areas of Iran self -immolation is one of the most common ways for committing suicide and it is very disturbing and painful for those who witness it. Due to the presence of the families/relatives of the self-immolation victims in the psychiatric clinics seeking for the treatment of PTSD sings, we decided to carry out a research in this respect. This descriptive cross-sectional study has evaluated 100 witnesses (70 % females, 30% males) who referred to Kermanshah psychiatric clinic during a four year period (2004-2007). The subjects were assessed by 2 demographical questionnaires and PTSD criteria on the basis of DSM-IV-TR using clinical interview. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS statistical indexes. Among the subjects, 52% were between 25-35 years of age, 87% were illiterate, 29% had a previous history of self-burning in their family, 33% had a previous history of mental disorder, 84% were villagers and 75% were married. The results have also shown that 78% of the studied subjects had diagnostic symptoms for PTSD and 22% had major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV-TR This study suggests that psychiatric evaluation of people who directly witness self -immolation in family members or neighbors may be useful in early detection and prevention of PTSD. However, further studies are warranted