10 Effects of Torture Studies on the effects of torture have a particular value in the field of traumatic stress studies, for torture provides a very clear example of trauma, and an area in which it is sometimes possible to examine the effects of both physical and psychological factors. Studies of the physical effects of torture and organised violence clearly show a wide range of physical sequelae (2022). The effects can range from neurological impairments, usually produced by violent beatings, to minor scarring, produced by burns or electrical torture. Physical torture produces a wide range of sequelae, usually related to the type of torture applied (20), and also produces a wide range of physical complaints in survivors. The most frequent complaints of torture survivors relate to somatic illness, with neurological symptoms (85%), cardiac symptoms (75%), gastrointestinal symptoms (70%), and motor symptoms (90%), being the most frequent. Of these groups of symptoms, motor symptoms are most likely to reveal a physical disorder, and are usually related to physical injury sustained during beatings or other physical abuse. Somatic complaints, in general, are likely to be an indication of psychological disorder. Torture is usually described from one of two orientations: those arguing in favour of a torture syndrome, and those arguing in favour of the PTSD concept. the evidence for a torture syndrome is presently unconvincing, altough it is argued that the notion of a torture syndrome is too narrowly conceived at present (43). It is also apparent that the PTSD concept has difficulties, and, for example, several studies of torture survivors show that the definition of PTSd does not describe all the morbid group (16-17).