Mozambique child soldier life outcome study: Lessons learned in rehabilitation and reintegration efforts

Abstract

As the use of child soldiers continues to proliferate throughout the world, effective psychosocial interventions must be developed and evaluated. Our research shows that former child soldiers who are provided rehabilitative services and accepted back into their families and communities are able to become productive, responsible and caring adults. In 1988, 39 captured or escaped child soldiers were brought by the Mozambican government to the Lhanguene Rehabilitation Center in Maputo, Mozambique's capital city. Interventions that focused on rehabilitating the children both psychologically and physically were initiated during their 6-month stay at the Lhanguene centre, and reintegration assistance was provided for 2 years thereafter to support their return to families and communities. Our research continued to follow these former child soldiers for 16 years, and focused on their psychological, social and economic functioning. The study included qualitative and quantitative data collection methods to obtain adult well-being outcomes and was also designed to identify interventions that enabled these child soldiers to re-enter civilian life and lead relatively productive lives. Efficacious rehabilitation activities included those that strengthened individuals' coping skills for anticipated trauma and grief, instilled a sense of social responsibility and promoted self-regulation and security (versus survival) seeking behaviour. Activities that supported long term reintegration and self-sufficiency included community acceptance and forgiveness, traditional cleansing and healing rituals, livelihoods and apprenticeships.

The Impact of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Interventions on People Affected by Humanitarian Emergencies: A systematic review

“…This sub-theme was identified in four studies, two of which were judged to be highly useful and of high 69 or medium reliability. 66 One lower-quality study also provided medium useful findings, 65 while one study was judged as being of low reliability and usefulness 68 but provided supporting data. Programmes identified the need to increase knowledge about the traumatic effects of extended periods of exposure to violence and conflict on psychosocial outcomes.…”

“…Programmes identified the need to increase knowledge about the traumatic effects of extended periods of exposure to violence and conflict on psychosocial outcomes. For example, Boothby et al (2006) found that to mitigate the impact of child soldiering experiences on young boys in Mozambique, tier two programme rehabilitation activities needed not only to focus on psychological recovery but also on the reintegration of former child soldiers (FCSs) into their home communities. This was achieved via 'community sensitisation campaigns' focused on increasing 'community acceptance' of FCSs.…”

“…Criterion 4: Grounded in/supported by data A total of 10 studies presented findings that were fairly or well grounded in the data: 66,[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] i.e. they clearly reported participants' views, in the form of quotes or questionnaire answers, separately from authors' narrative descriptions of data to show how they arrived at their findings.…”

“…[74][75][76] All five studies judged to be of medium reliability were judged as highly useful. 66,[70][71][72][73] Two of the three studies judged to be of low reliability also contributed findings judged to be of medium usefulness; 65, 67 the remaining study was judged as low on both criteria. …”

“…[65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] Studies provided thorough descriptions of their data collection processes, including ethical practice around obtaining consent and steps taken to ensure confidentiality. Some studies also broadened the range of data they collected by using more than one method, such as conducting both in-depth interviews and focus groups, or visiting field sites.…”