전북대학교 간호대학
College of Nursing, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea
The study was conducted to investigate aftereffects of torture on North Korean refugees in South Korea. The aftereffects of torture checklist (Torture: the Grave of Human Rights, written by KRCT, Hangyeorae Publishing: Seoul, 2004) were employed. The checklist was originally derived from the Istanbul Protocol 1999. All participants surveyed reported torture experience. All participants were suffering from physical and psychological aftereffects of torture. Seventy percents were from socioeconomic and 63% were from familial aftereffects of torture. The mean number of aftereffects was 28.9 (14.8 physical, 11.8 psychological, and 1.7 socioeconomic, and 0.6 familial). The most frequent chronic physical aftereffect was digestive problems (stomach ulcer, hepatitis, loss of appetite, weight loss, constipation) followed by musculoskeletal disorders. The most frequent chronic psychological aftereffect was emotional disorder (nightmares, hopelessness, evasion, repeated experience of torture, neurosis, panic attacks, severe anxiety, depression) followed by cognitive disorders. The most frequent aftereffects of socioeconomic aftereffects was unemployment related to illness and disability, lack of job skills, difficulty in establishing social relationships, difficulty in communication, and maladjustment to South Korean society. The most frequent aftereffect of family was children problems followed by disintegration of family, and inability to maintain marriage life. These consequences seriously jeopardize the resettlement and the integration of North Korean refugees in South Korea. (Korean J Str Res 2006;14:33∼40)