Reintegration of former child soldiers in northern Uganda: coming to terms with children??s agency and accountability

Akello, Grace; Richters, Annemiek; Reis, Ria

doi:10.1097/wtf.0b013e3280121c00

Cited by 63 publications

(52 citation statements)

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“…Cluster 2 was also distinguished as the only cluster in which over half of CCDs featured anger (n = 15, 57.7%), a large component of negative cognitions and moods. CCDs included two versions of Acholi cen (Akello et al, 2006; Betancourt et al, 2009), Masalit majnun (Rasmussen et al, 2011), and Quechua lukuyasca (Pedersen et al, 2010). Because of this cluster included psychotic symptoms and anger with hyperarousal, we labeled this cluster behavioral disturbance.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Posttraumatic stress in emergency settings outside North America and Europe: A review of the emic literature

Rasmussen

Keatley

Joscelyne

2014

Social Science & Medicine

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Mental health professionals from North America and Europe have become common participants in postconflict and disaster relief efforts outside of North America and Europe. Consistent with their training, these practitioners focus primarily on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as their primary diagnostic concern. Most research that has accompanied humanitarian aid efforts has likewise originated in North America and Europe, has focused on PTSD, and in turn has reinforced practitioners’ assumptions about the universality of the diagnosis. In contrast, studies that have attempted to identify how local populations conceptualize posttrauma reactions portray a wide range of psychological states. We review this emic literature in order to examine differences and commonalities across local posttraumatic cultural concepts of distress (CCDs). We focus on symptoms to describe these constructs – i.e., using the dominant neo-Kraepelinian approach used in North American and European psychiatry – as opposed to focusing on explanatory models in order to examine whether positive comparisons of PTSD to CCDs meet criteria for face validity. Hierarchical clustering (Ward’s method) of symptoms within CCDs provides a portrait of the emic literature characterized by traumatic multifinality with several common themes. Global variety within the literature suggests that few disaster-affected populations have mental health nosologies that include PTSD-like syndromes. One reason for this seems to be the almost complete absence of avoidance as pathology. Many nosologies contain depression-like disorders. Relief efforts would benefit from mental health practitioners getting specific training in culture-bound posttrauma constructs when entering settings beyond the boundaries of the culture of their training and practice.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Posttraumatic stress in emergency settings outside North America and Europe: A review of the emic literature

Rasmussen

Keatley

Joscelyne

2014

Social Science & Medicine

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“…70,104–106 For instance, in Zimbabwe, Zezuru healers are known to engage family and community members in groups, draw out concerns over children's problems, facilitate reconciliation in and between families, and create a restorative climate. 71 Similarly, in Angola, researchers have observed how traditional cleansing rituals facilitate the reintegration of war-affected youth through forgiveness of past transgressions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…72 Such research emphasizes the importance of interventions already in use within affected communities. 13,104–107 To date, however, most research on traditional healing/cleansing ceremonies has been descriptive. No systematic evaluations have examined the degree to which communities and traditional healing interventions are associated with improvements in mental health in war-affected children and adolescents.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions for Children Affected by War

Betancourt

Meyers-Ohki

Charrow

et al. 2013

Harvard Review of Psychiatry

222

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Background Children and adolescents exposed to armed conflict are at high risk of developing mental health problems. To date, a range of psychosocial approaches and clinical/psychiatric interventions has been used to address mental health needs in these groups. Aims To provide an overview of peer-reviewed psychosocial and mental health interventions designed to address mental health needs of conflict-affected children, and to highlight areas in which policy and research need strengthening. Methods We used standard review methodology to identify interventions aimed at improving or treating mental health problems in conflict-affected youth. An ecological lens was used to organize studies according to the individual, family, peer/school, and community factors targeted by each intervention. Interventions were also evaluated for their orientation toward prevention, treatment, or maintenance, and for the strength of the scientific evidence of reported effects. Results Of 2305 studies returned from online searches of the literature and 21 sources identified through bibliography mining, 58 qualified for full review, with 40 peer-reviewed studies included in the final narrative synthesis. Overall, the peer-reviewed literature focused largely on school-based interventions. Very few family and community-based interventions have been empirically evaluated. Only two studies assessed multilevel or stepped-care packages. Conclusions The evidence base on effective and efficacious interventions for conflict-affected youth requires strengthening. Postconflict development agendas must be retooled to target the vulnerabilities characterizing conflict-affected youth, and these approaches must be collaborative across bodies responsible for the care of youth and families.

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“…Other contexts where youth have reported high rates of voluntary association are also characterized by strong political opposition groups with popular support in some regions of the countries, e.g., El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and Mozambique (de Silva, 2013; Dickson-Gomez, 2002; Santacruz & Arana, 2002; West, 2004). This contrasts with context with high rates of forced conscription where conflicts have been characterized by political instability, rapidly shifting warring factions, or ongoing dislocation of groups throughout the region, e.g., regions of West and East Africa (Akello et al, 2006; Betancourt et al, 2013). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Recruitment of child soldiers in Nepal: Mental health status and risk factors for voluntary participation of youth in armed groups.

Kohrt¹,

Yang²,

Rai³

et al. 2016

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology

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Preventing involuntary conscription and voluntary recruitment of youth into armed groups are global human rights priorities. Pathways for self-reported voluntary recruitment and the impact of voluntary recruitment on mental health have received limited attention. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for voluntarily joining armed groups, as well as the association of conscription status and mental health. In Nepal, interviews were conducted with 258 former child soldiers who participated in a communist (Maoist) revolution. Eighty percent of child soldiers joined ‘voluntarily’. Girls were 2.07 times as likely to join voluntarily (95% CI, 1.03–4.16, p=0.04). Among girls, 51% reported joining voluntarily because of personal connections to people who were members of the armed group, compared to 22% of boys. Other reasons included escaping difficult life situations (36%), inability to achieve other goals in life (28%), and an appealing philosophy of the armed group (32%). Poor economic conditions were more frequently endorsed among boys (22%) than girls (10%). Voluntary conscription was associated with decreased risk for PTSD among boys but not for girls. Interventions to prevent voluntary association with armed groups could benefit from attending to difficulties in daily life, identifying non-violent paths to achieve life goals, and challenging the political philosophy of armed groups. Among boys, addressing economic risk factors may prevent recruitment, and prevention efforts for girls will need to address personal connections to armed groups, as it has important implications for preventing recruitment through new methods, such as social media.

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Reintegration of former child soldiers in northern Uganda: coming to terms with children??s agency and accountability

Cited by 63 publications

References 0 publications

Posttraumatic stress in emergency settings outside North America and Europe: A review of the emic literature

Posttraumatic stress in emergency settings outside North America and Europe: A review of the emic literature

Interventions for Children Affected by War

Recruitment of child soldiers in Nepal: Mental health status and risk factors for voluntary participation of youth in armed groups.

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