The impact of Sudan armed conflict and coping strategies on the mental health of the older adult internally displaced persons in Darfur camps.

Background: The war victims in Darfur witnessed the killing of relatives, rape of women, and loss of property. Studies in war-affected populations have reported high rates of mental health problems. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of the armed conflict in Sudan on the mental health of the older adult IDPs in Darfur as well as the role of coping strategies in dealing with psychological distress.

Methods: A purposive sampling technique was used to select 109 older adult internally displaced persons (Mage = 74.93; SD = 7.07). The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), and a demographic survey were used to collect data.

Results: The results revealed a high prevalence (75.2%) of non-psychotic psychiatric disorders amongst the older adult IDP participants. Task-focused coping was negatively related to somatic symptoms (p < 0.01), anxiety (p < 0.05), and general distress (p < 0.01), while avoidance was negatively related to age (p < 0.05) and social dysfunction (p < 0.05). Family size was positively associated with task-focused coping (p < 0.05) and negatively associated with somatic symptoms (p < 0.05). The results further showed significant gender differences in somatic symptoms (p < 0.001), anxiety (p < 0.05), general distress (p < 0.01), task-focused (p < 0.001) and avoidance coping (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that attention should be directed towards fostering positive coping capacity and the provision of psychosocial support services for older adult IDPs in Darfur.