Abstract
Former prisoners of war (POWs) endured grave physical and emotional conditions during their internment. Often they experienced a variety of traumatic events, including torture. For these reasons, research on former POWs is directly related to the problems of survivors of torture. The conditions POWs survived—enforced captivity, fear and terror, pain and suffering, and shame and humiliation—all parallel reports from survivors of torture. Clearly, torture survivors share many life experiences with former POWs, and the research conducted on POWs in many different countries may be very relevant to understanding the specific mental health consequences of torture. The research on POWs has previously been comprehensively reviewed (Engdahl & Eberly, 1990). What follows is an update highlighting POW research of particular relevance to the experiences of torture survivors.
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Engdahl, B., Fairbank, J.A. (2001). Former Prisoners of War. In: Gerrity, E., Tuma, F., Keane, T.M. (eds) The Mental Health Consequences of Torture. The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1295-0_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1295-0_9
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