Sierra Leone's Former Child Soldiers: A Longitudinal Study of Risk, Protective Factors, and Mental Health
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent PsychiatryPublished 1 June 2010Open access
Theresa S. Betancourt, Robert T. Brennan, Julia Rubin-Smith, Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, Stephen E. Gilman
Citations232
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score3.00
SNIP2.88
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
Abstract
Psychosocial interventions for former child soldiers may be more effective if they account for postconflict factors in addition to war exposures. Youth with accumulated risk factors, lack of protective factors, and persistent distress should be identified. Sustainable services to promote community acceptance, reduce stigma, and expand social supports and educational access are recommended.
Keywords
PsychologySocial SciencesHealth Professions
Wiley series in probability and statisticsMultiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys
20,606 Citations1987Donald B. Rubin
Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis
10,585 Citations2003J. David Singer, John B. Willett
Journal of Health PsychologyRacial Differences in Physical and Mental Health
4,727 Citations1997David R. Williams, Yan Yu +2 more
Findings underscore the need for research efforts to identify the complex ways in which economic and non-economic forms of discrimination relate to each other and combine with socio-economic position and other risk factors and resources to affect health.
Systems Research and Behavioral ScienceThe Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report symptom inventory
4,656 Citations1974Leonard R. Derogatis, Ronald S. Lipman +3 more
The historical evolution, development, rationale and validation of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist is described, a self-report symptom inventory comprised of 58 items which are representative of the symptom configurations commonly observed among outpatients.
Survey methodologyA multivariate technique for multiply imputing missing values using a sequence of regression models
1,994 Citations2001Trivellore E. Raghunathan, James M. Lepkowski +2 more
Journal of the American Statistical AssociationApplied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence
1,958 Citations2005Carolyn J. Anderson
International Review of PsychiatryThe mental health of children affected by armed conflict: Protective processes and pathways to resilience
798 Citations2008Theresa S. Betancourt, Kashif Khan
It is suggested that further research on war-affected children should pay particular attention to coping and meaning making at the individual level; the role of attachment relationships, caregiver health, resources and connection in the family, and social support available in peer and extended social networks.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent PsychiatryReview of Child and Adolescent Refugee Mental Health
780 Citations2004Stuart L. Lustig, Maryam Kia‐Keating +6 more
Journal of Community PsychologyThe structure of social support: A Conceptual and empirical analysis
589 Citations1983Manuel Barrera, Sheila L. Ainlay
The overall purpose of the present paper was to bring some clarity to social support by critically examining how it has been presented in the literature and by proposing both rationally and empirically derived typologies for organizing social support functions.
The Review of Economics and StatisticsThe Consequences of Child Soldiering
488 Citations2010Christopher Blattman, Jeannie Annan
Transcultural PsychiatryPreparing Instruments for Transcultural Research: Use of the Translation Monitoring Form with Nepali-Speaking Bhutanese Refugees
349 Citations1999Mark van Ommeren, Bhogendra Sharma +5 more
A translation monitoring form is presented to enhance the methodical preparation of instruments for transcultural use and requires the systematic use of strategies advocated by previous translation and adaptation researchers.
The LancetPost-traumatic stress in former Ugandan child soldiers
347 Citations2004Ilse Derluyn, Eric Broekaert +2 more
Former child soldiers who had been abducted by the northern Ugandan rebellion movement Lord's Resistance Army are interviewed to shed light on the nature of severe trauma experienced by this group of children, and show a high rate of post-traumatic stress reactions.
Social Science & MedicinePast horrors, present struggles: The role of stigma in the association between war experiences and psychosocial adjustment among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone
318 Citations2009Theresa S. Betancourt, Jessica Agnew‐Blais +3 more
It is observed that post-conflict factors such as stigma can play an important role in shaping psychosocial adjustment in former child soldiers, and it is found that discrimination was inversely associated with family and community acceptance and improvements in community acceptance were associated with adaptive attitudes and behaviors.
Journal of Child Psychology and PsychiatryPsychiatric diagnosis – is it universal or relative to culture?
304 Citations2008Glorisa Canino, Margarita Alegrı́a
Empirical studies were used to present evidence in favor of or against a universalist or relativistic view of child psychiatric disorders using a model developed by Robins and Guze to determine the validity of psychiatric disorders.
JAMAAssociation of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms With Openness to Reconciliation and Feelings of Revenge Among Former Ugandan and Congolese Child Soldiers
290 Citations2007Christophe Pierre Bayer, Fionna Klasen +1 more
JAMAComparison of Mental Health Between Former Child Soldiers and Children Never Conscripted by Armed Groups in Nepal
266 Citations2008Brandon A. Kohrt
In Nepal, former child soldiers display greater severity of mental health problems compared with children never conscripted by armed groups, and this difference remains for depression and PTSD (the latter especially among girls) even after controlling for trauma exposure.
Child DevelopmentSierra Leone’s Former Child Soldiers: A Follow-Up Study of Psychosocial Adjustment and Community Reintegration
266 Citations2010Theresa S. Betancourt, Ivelina Borisova +6 more
Of the potential protective resources examined, improved community acceptance was associated with reduced depression at follow-up and improved confidence and prosocial attitudes regardless of levels of violence exposure and retention in school was also associated with greater prossocial attitudes.
JAMAAssociation of Combatant Status and Sexual Violence With Health and Mental Health Outcomes in Postconflict Liberia
249 Citations2008Kirsten Johnson
The rates of symptoms of PTSD, MDD, and suicidal ideation were higher among former combatants than noncombatants and among those who experienced sexual violence vs those who did not.
Global Public HealthMozambique child soldier life outcome study: Lessons learned in rehabilitation and reintegration efforts
178 Citations2006Neil Boothby, Jack J. Crawford +1 more
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.
Transcultural PsychiatryA Qualitative Study of Mental Health Problems among Children Displaced by War in Northern Uganda
176 Citations2009Theresa S. Betancourt, Liesbeth Speelman +2 more
A previously developed rapid ethnographic assessment method is used to explore local perceptions of mental health problems among children and adults from the Acholi ethnic group displaced by the war in northern Uganda and describes several locally defined syndromes.
Child DevelopmentUnpacking Trauma Exposure Risk Factors and Differential Pathways of Influence: Predicting Postwar Mental Distress in Bosnian Adolescents
143 Citations2010Christopher M. Layne, Joseph A. Olsen +10 more
This study of 881 Bosnian adolescents compared both common factor-effect indicator and composite causal-indicator methods for "unpacking" dimensions of war exposure and their respective paths to postwar adjustment outcomes, showing how multitiered interventions can enhance treatment effectiveness and efficiency in war settings.
Choice Reviews OnlineMulticultural understanding of child and adolescent psychopathology: implications for mental health assessment
125 Citations2007
Journal of Refugee StudiesAssessing War Trauma in Children: A Case Study of Lebanese Children
109 Citations1992Mona S. Macksoud
InterventionThe disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers: social and psychological transformation in Sierra Leone
108 Citations2006John Williamson
An overview of the processes of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers in Sierra Leone shows an effective, integrated response involving a large number of civil society organizations and committees as well as the government.
Journal of Anxiety DisordersSocial anxiety, depression, and PTSD in Vietnam veterans
107 Citations2002Stefan G. Hofmann, Brett T. Litz +1 more
It is suggested that social anxiety in Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD is closely associated with mood disturbance, social withdrawal, and isolation associated with depression.
Journal of Refugee StudiesInvestigating Psychosocial Adjustment of Former Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone and Uganda
77 Citations2004C. MacMullin
The LancetPost-traumatic stress in former Ugandan child soldiers
73 Citations2004Susan McKay, Michael Wessells
