The effects of torture and other maltreatment: Implications for psychology

The effects of torture and other maltreatment have been most widely recognized and studied among survivors of World War II German concentration camps / review research on those survivors as well as on those held as prisoners of war (POWs) and political prisoners of repressive governments who have been tortured or otherwise severely maltreated outline the psychological issues raised by the long-term consequences of being exposed to maltreatment in captivity / because these consequences are influenced by the characteristics of the maltreatment itself (e.g., its duration, intensity, and nature) and the characteristics of the individual (e.g., age at exposure, coping mechanisms, and predisposition), these consequences are key areas for psychologists outline the status of current knowledge and the methodological dilemmas of research in this area / use the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) experience in serving a group of survivors of captivity as a backdrop for discussing the directions that research, treatment, and public action should take.