Psychological torture is torture, new study finds
March 5th, 2007
A new study in the March Archives of General Psychiatry examines the mental health consequences of the varied psychological manipulations which are commonly referred to as psychological torture., as compared to physical torture The equivalent effects of these two forms of abuse undercuts the Bush administration claim that these psychological manipulations are not torture and are not banned.
Here is an AFP article on the study:
US has no case for redefining torture: study
Psychological torture, including some of the techniques reportedly used on Guantanamo Bay detainees, appears to inflict the same kind of long-term mental damage as physical abuse, a study released Monday said.
Researchers who evaluated the mental health of soldiers and civilians tortured during the 1990s Balkan wars found that victims of psychological abuse were just as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression as victims of classic physical torture methods.
The researchers also reported that the torture victims rated some techniques such as stress positions, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding as distressing as most physical torture methods.
“Ill treatment during captivity, such as psychological manipulations, humiliating treatment, and forced stress positions, does not seem to be substantially different from physical torture in terms of the severity of mental suffering they cause,” the study’s authors wrote.
“Thus, these procedures do amount to torture, thereby lending support to their prohibition by international law,” they wrote in the journal of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The investigators said their findings undermine moves by the US government to narrow its definition of torture in order to free interrogators to use certain psychological methods aimed at breaking a prisoner’s resistance.
In 2003, lawyers for the US Justice Department and a Pentagon working group report on detainee interrogations made the case for a narrow definition of torture that excludes procedures such as blindfolding and hooding, forced nudity, isolation and other psychological manipulations.
The Justice Department memorandum argued that the scope of the term torture should be limited to those acts which could be shown to result in “prolonged mental harm,” according to the study.
The development followed allegations of human rights abuses at US detention facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
However, the authors of this paper said that based on their analysis of the experiences of torture victims from the modern Balkans conflict, the US appears to be drawing a distinction without a difference.
They said their analysis of 279 Bosnian, Croatian and Serb torture survivors showed that the individuals who suffered psychological abuse had the same rates of depression, PTSD, and social and work-related problems as others who had endured beatings, burnings, sexual abuse and other forms of physical punishment at the hands of their captors.
They suggested that the trauma is the same, because regardless of the form of aggression, the effect is to create fear or anxiety in the detainee while at the same time removing any form of control from the person in order to create a state of total helplessness.
“The distinction between torture and degrading treatment is not only useless, but also dangerous,” said Steven Miles, professor of bioethics at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in an accompanying editorial in the journal of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The study was written by Metin Basoglu, head of trauma studies at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, with help from colleagues at the department of psychiatry at the Clinical Hospital Zvezdara in Belgrade.
Here is the Abstract of the study:
ABSTRACT
Context After the reports of human rights abuses by the US military in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, questions have been raised as to whether certain detention and interrogation procedures amount to torture.
Objective To examine the distinction between various forms of ill treatment and torture during captivity in terms of their relative psychological impact.
Design and Setting A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a population-based sample of survivors of torture from Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Banja Luka in Republica Srpska, Rijeka in Croatia, and Belgrade in Serbia.
Participants A total of 279 survivors of torture accessed through linkage sampling in the community (Banja Luka, Sarajevo, and Rijeka) and among the members of 2 associations for war veterans and prisoners of war (Belgrade).
Main Outcome Measures Scores on the Semi-structured Interview for Survivors of War, Exposure to Torture Scale, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, and Clinician-Administered PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) Scale for DSM-IV.
Results Psychological manipulations, humiliating treatment, exposure to aversive environmental conditions, and forced stress positions showed considerable overlap with physical torture stressors in terms of associated distress and uncontrollability. In regression analyses, physical torture did not significantly relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (odds ratio, 1.41, 95% confidence interval, 0.89-2.25) or depression (odds ratio, 1.41, 95% confidence interval, 0.71-2.78). The traumatic stress impact of torture (physical or nonphysical torture and ill treatment) seemed to be determined by perceived uncontrollability and distress associated with the stressors.
Conclusions Ill treatment during captivity, such as psychological manipulations, humiliating treatment, and forced stress positions, does not seem to be substantially different from physical torture in terms of the severity of mental suffering they cause, the underlying mechanism of traumatic stress, and their long-term psychological outcome. Thus, these procedures do amount to torture, thereby lending support to their prohibition by international law.
Perhaps I’ll write more on this study later, when I’ve better digested it.
UPDATE: This article is available online here. Unfortunately, an Editorial Commentary by Steven Miles — Science and Torture — is apparently not available to non-subscribers. I will see if I can get a copy and make it available.
Entry Filed under: Psychology, Public Health, Research Methods, Rights and Liberties, Social Issues, Torture, Uncategorized, War Crimes
7 Comments Add your own
1. Psyche, Science, and Soci&hellip | March 7th, 2007 at 9:32 am
[...] A New York Times article on the new study examining differences in the consequences of physical vs. psychological torture (which I posted about a couple of days ago ) contains an important statement: “A spokesman for the Justice Department, Erik Amblin, declined to specify what treatments would be cruel and degrading but would not qualify as torture. [...]
2. valtin | March 8th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Great posting, Stephen!
I’ve been peeved for a long time about the sham controversy about physical vs. psychological torture.
The whole division is bogus, based on antique philosophical disputes about difference between mind and body, between matter and spirit, etc.
It has long been demonstrated that psychological and/or psychosocial trauma has a physical effect upon the nervous system of the victim. The result is prolonged hyperarousal of the autonomic nervous system. There also appears to be damage to memory structures in the brain, probably in the hippocampus and amygdala.
The whole discussion about torture is bogged down in obfuscation and a now long history of scientific suppression in the name of state secrets and letting the secret services have the right to torture in secret, and teach other nations to torture, too.
3. Psyche, Science, and Soci&hellip | March 12th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
[...] Here is Steven Miles’ Editorial on the recent study, by Başoğlu and colleagues, examining potential differences in long-term effects between psychical torture and psychological torture, often thought of as “torture-lite.” They found that these two forms of torture were equally disturbing of long-term mental health. The journal editors kindly made the Başoğlu paper available without a subscription, but not Miles’ editorial. Dr. Miles has kindly sent me his submitted draft, posted here: Science and Torture [...]
4. Roberto Sanchez-Vazquez | May 19th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
in the absense of a proper diognosis victims of psychological torture /or prolong exposure torturous conditions are simply diagnosed with (ptsd) the proper diognosis is:
Complex PTSD or desnos, this diagnosis is needed in order to address the complexity of our simptoms.
I am a victim of psychological torture by members of executive staff at the federal correction’s Institution, Bastrop Texas/ US Department of Justice/ where I worked until Dec, 06. Following a report of assault by another Officer, I was immediately Isolated from my coworkers. deprived from contact with my coworkers for three months, humiliated, degrated, then fired for having suffered a psychological injury with chronic psychological, and somatic physical symptoms. theese department of justice oficials used calculated tactics intended to affect my psyche and after 3 months of continues sensory and physical Isolation they obtained their goal/ no visible scars left by the perpetraitors and yet they “Broke me down” ruined my carear, affected every aspect of my life, and rendered me suicidal, unable to get treatment, absent the diagnosis of DESNOS on the DSM-4 I have been kicked out of hospitals 3x’s made 10 emergency Room visits sinse Nov 06, resulting in the staff calling police and leaving with no treatment. so now when I feel suicidal I simply sit in solitude and crie. I suffer from chronic pain, chronic fatigue, chronic irritable boul syndrom. hypertension and others. I Live in killeen, TX. I am in financial hardship. unable to work. unable to get legal help, unable to enjoy life, family, or religion ( Psychological Torture Ruined me and negatevely affected my families life, by rendering me with “COMPLEX PTSD /UNABLED to be validated. psychological torture is the most intrsive form of torture. Its like livig dead. thank you Dr. B. Van Der Kolk and the late Mr. Tim Field. with out your efforts I would wonder in despair not knowing what was hapening to me. any sugestions for me 254-526-4947 call with any ideas legal or how to get proer help thank you.
5. Roberto Sanchez Vazquez | February 14th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Roberto Sanchez Vazquez/ february 14, 2008.
Sinse we last spoke on May 19, 07. I have made moore ER visits
our local medical facilities are ill equiped to deal with trauma victims, after each visit to the ER at Ft. Hood Texas, the largest Army base doctors would become frustrated and isue me a knew diagnosis for each visit as punishment. Local psychyatrist in killeen texas refuse to provide me service, I am not allowed to take my own daughter to her doctor at ABC pediatrics. My own family care provider refuses to hear my symptoms and directs me to pick only one symptom per visit and limits my visit to 15 minutes. theese so called medical proffesionals fail to understand the complexity of complex trauma and the cluster of symptoms we that tortured persons are having to live with. how can you separate the physical and psycological symptoms of complex-post traumatic stress disorder? why are we the targets of torture, workplase psychological abuse and prolong isolation blamed for our condition. why is it that we are made to suffer in solitude without-legal, medical. psychological help? why is it that when we reach out of our “dead existance” for help we are simply drugged and put away for 36 hours suicide watch then sent back to our hideouts (homes) enough is enough we deserve to have our voices heard and be validated through action. We are American citicens with the same legal and civil rights we do not have to accept being werehoused in our own homes just because we fear the ill treatment we receive from this out of date medical and psychological system that is still debating weather torture is torture ” if it causes personality change, pain physical or emotional, disability, job loss, financial loss, divorse, and prolong physical and prolong mental harm “Major depression recurrent, PTSD Complex or simple then it amounts to torture and someone is liable and should answer in front of a judge, We American victims of torture, Bullying-Mobbing at the workplace need to demand our voices be heard our abusers knew and intended to render us disabled and in financial ruin so that we are not able to secure a competent lawyer, our own Department of justice EEO process engages in minimising tactics intended to render targets of abuse silent. An independent body needs to oversee the department of justice they seem to not be able to police themselves as evident in my case and many others “Dennis R. Turner, et al. v. Alberto Gonzales Attorney General a case that has dragged for years. My case BOP 2007-0117 where I was Psychologically tortured at work through the use of prolong Isolation, sensory deprivation and severe humiliation by officials at the Federal Corrections Institution at Bastrop Texas from 10-12-2006 to 12-21-2006 while working as a corrections officer, my mistake was reporting being asaulted by a 6′3″ Bully. our justice system and medical system is obsolete and punishes victims and rewards bullies.
6. Roberto Sanchez Vazquez | February 19th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
February 19, 2008. I recently learned that a veteran who was suffering PTSD and had been discharged approximately one year ago from the U.S.ARMY with a 30% disability for his condition of PTSD, This veteran after a year of suffering decided to end his suffering on super bowl sunday.
I can attest to the physical, psychological, social, and economical suffering people with PTSD are made to endure.
I am a proud American butt am not proud of our corrupt system, a system that rather than investigate cases of torture engages in cover ups by forsing me to report my ordeal to the very department that tortured me there by inhousing the complaint under a bogus case of EEO and dismiss it as hear say. Then we are simply told to be happy you are getting compensation in the form of dissability. We are not treated for our symptoms nor assisted as they claim we are. Doctors and psychyatrist treat us as liars and with contempt and if we complain they call the authorities and you are simply intimidated in to leaving without care, society wants us to suffer in silence and warehouse uor selves in our homes, they are simply “wishing us away” meanwhile every day we continue to loose lives through suicides due to the negligent policy conserning wokplace abuse, psychological torture at the workplace, and other forms of trauma.
I
7. Theo | May 26th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Mr. Sanchez Vazquez, I am a sociolody student and my father a psychologist and I’m planning on setting up a website on the subject. Please write to theoantichi at yahoo dot com
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed