In the wake of violent conflicts, the human psyche endures scars that extend far beyond the immediate chaos. A groundbreaking study published in BMC Psychology in 2026 by Nečasová, Preiss, Ulčák, and colleagues delivers a comprehensive analysis of the enduring psychological impact wrought by war trauma and forced migration, focusing on survivors of the Balkan wars. This interpretative phenomenological analysis unpacks decades-old wounds, revealing how trauma from war intertwines with the challenges of displacement to shape long-term mental health outcomes in profound ways.
The Balkan wars, which raged throughout the 1990s, not only reshaped geopolitical landscapes but also precipitated a refugee crisis of staggering magnitude. Millions were uprooted, often witnessing atrocities that shattered their sense of security and identity. Prior research has established the immediate psychological toll of such events; however, this study delves deeper by exploring the lived experiences of survivors years after the end of hostilities. Using qualitative methodology grounded in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the researchers sought to capture nuanced, first-person accounts of trauma, resilience, and adaptation.
Employing IPA allowed the research team to navigate the intricacies of subjective human experience systematically. This approach emphasizes understanding how individuals make sense of their life-altering experiences, particularly the meaning they attribute to trauma and migration. Unlike quantitative surveys that can overlook the complex emotional textures survivors endure, IPA provided rich narratives that elucidate the psychological landscape imposed by war trauma, migration stressors, and the struggle for identity continuity amidst displacement.
Central to the findings is the revelation that psychological sequelae of war are neither uniform nor transient. Instead, survivors often grapple with persistent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complicated grief, and existential challenges that perforate social and familial bonds. The study reports that the trauma from direct exposure to violence interacts synergistically with the chronic stressors of uprooting—loss of home, cultural alienation, and precarious socioeconomic conditions—to deepen psychological distress. This compounding effect signals that trauma must be understood through a multifactorial lens, accounting for the full spectrum of war and migration experiences.
The study documents how survivors frequently experience a ruptured sense of temporal continuity, whereby past traumas intrude upon present existence, significantly impeding processes of healing and integration. The researchers highlight pervasive phenomena such as intrusive memories, nightmares, and emotional numbing, which disrupt daily functioning and interpersonal trust. Importantly, these symptoms endure despite the passage of decades, underscoring the enduring neuropsychological imprints of severe trauma.
Moreover, the phenomenological accounts suggest that migration itself is a second trauma—a complex and layered journey fraught with uncertainty, displacement, and socio-political marginalization. Survivors recount experiences of dislocation that culminate in identity fragmentation. The loss of homeland, language barriers, and cultural dissonance collectively fuel feelings of alienation, paradoxically exacerbating mental health struggles even after physical safety has been secured. This dimension highlights the psychological cost of uprooting, a critical consideration for policymakers and mental health practitioners engaged with refugee populations.
Neuroscientifically, prolonged exposure to intense trauma and stress is known to induce dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and alterations in brain regions implicated in emotion regulation, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. The study’s findings resonate with these biological mechanisms by contextualizing how chronic trauma disrupts cognitive and affective processing in survivors. This biological insight reinforces the necessity of integrated treatment models that combine psychotherapeutic interventions with neurobiological understanding to ameliorate long-term psychological distress.
A striking theme emerging from the survivors’ narratives is the role of meaning-making and narrative reconstruction as a pathway to psychological resilience. Participants who found ways to integrate their traumatic experiences into coherent personal narratives often demonstrated better adjustment. This aligns with theoretical frameworks in clinical psychology emphasizing narrative therapy and post-traumatic growth, supporting therapeutic approaches that empower survivors to reclaim agency by crafting stories that acknowledge trauma while affirming strength and hope.
The research also explores social dynamics, foregrounding how communal relationships and collective memory can either support or hinder recovery. In many Balkan communities, collective remembrance of the war serves as a double-edged sword—providing validation and solidarity on one hand, while risking re-traumatization through the perpetuation of collective grief and unresolved tensions. This social dimension underscores the delicate balance between remembering and moving forward, implicating community-based interventions that foster reconciliation and constructive remembrance.
Clinically, the study advocates for a nuanced, culturally sensitive approach when addressing psychological suffering among war survivors and migrants. Standardized diagnostic criteria often fail to capture the culturally embedded meanings survivors attach to their distress, potentially leading to misdiagnosis or inadequate treatment. Instead, integrating cultural competence with phenomenological approaches can help clinicians develop tailored interventions that resonate authentically with individual and communal narratives, facilitating more effective therapeutic alliances and outcomes.
Another vital insight pertains to the intergenerational transmission of trauma. The study highlights how psychological wounds inflicted during the Balkan wars cascade across generations, subtly influencing family dynamics and identity formation for descendants of survivors. This intergenerational effect manifests through epigenetic changes and disrupted familial narratives that perpetuate vulnerability, suggesting that mental health services must extend their focus beyond immediate survivors to encompass broader family and community systems.
From a policy perspective, the findings elucidate critical gaps in refugee support programs, which often emphasize physical safety and immediate relief without adequately addressing psychological well-being. The chronic and multifaceted nature of war-related trauma mandates comprehensive mental health strategies encompassing long-term psychosocial support, culturally attuned counseling, and integration programs sensitive to survivors’ historical and identity contexts. Strengthening these aspects is crucial to fostering sustainable recovery and social cohesion.
Looking ahead, the study calls for interdisciplinary research efforts to better understand the neurocognitive pathways underpinning prolonged trauma and resilience among displaced populations. Combining qualitative analyses like IPA with neuroimaging and biomarker studies could unravel the mechanisms through which war trauma shapes brain function and psychological adaptation. Such integrated research could pave the way for innovative therapeutic modalities targeting both mind and body in a personalized manner.
The importance of survivors’ voices in informing policy and clinical practice cannot be overstated. By centering lived experience through meticulous qualitative inquiry, this study offers a template for humanizing mental health discourse around conflict and migration. It challenges prevailing paradigms that often marginalize subjective suffering behind statistics, reasserting the necessity of empathetic engagement with trauma’s enduring legacies.
In sum, the comprehensive interpretative phenomenological analysis by Nečasová and colleagues sheds unprecedented light on the long-term psychological fallout of war and migration among Balkan survivors. Its nuanced insights into the interplay of trauma, displacement, neurobiology, and meaning-making herald a transformative approach to understanding and addressing one of the most pressing humanitarian mental health crises of our time. As the global community grapples with ongoing conflicts and refugee crises, such research is indispensable for fostering pathways to healing that honor both science and human resilience.
Subject of Research:
Long-term psychological effects of war trauma and migration on Balkan war survivors.
Article Title:
Long-term psychological effects of war trauma and migration: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of Balkan war survivors.
Article References:
Nečasová, M., Preiss, M., Ulčák, D. et al. Long-term psychological effects of war trauma and migration: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of Balkan war survivors. BMC Psychol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-04033-3
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