A Three-Generation Study of the Prevalence and Comorbidity of Posttraumatic Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Afghan Refugees

Afghan refugees are at the forefront of international attention amidst the unfolding global refugee crisis. Having borne witnesses to the horrors of war, fled their homeland, and endured the tragic loss of loved ones, they suffered a psychological trauma that reshaped their cognitive and emotional frameworks. This cross-sectional survey explores the prevalence and comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic obsessive-compulsive disorder among Afghan refugees living in Haripur, Pakistan, and the intergenerational transmission of PTSD across their three generations. Researchers collected data from 48 male participants representing three generations of 16 Afghan refugee families using the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale for DSM-5-TR. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between posttraumatic obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, indicating a substantial co-occurrence of posttraumatic obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. About 79.20% of total participants were diagnosed with posttraumatic obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it was more prevalent among the first generation (87.5%) than in the second and third generations (75.0%) each—additionally, significant variability across generations in the prevalence of PTSD. The first-generation refugees experienced severe and very severe symptoms (12.5%), the second-generation experienced moderate symptoms, and the third-generation experienced mild symptoms (16.6%). These results emphasize the importance of addressing the comorbidity of both disorders in refugee communities to underscore their intergenerational adverse mental health outcomes.