NCJ Number
248070
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 38 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2014 Pages: 1197-1207
Date Published
July 2014
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether a family-focused, community-based psychological intervention could improve the mental health and psychosocial outcomes of young people affected by war and living in immediate danger of attack and abduction.
Abstract
This study examined the effect of a family-focused, community-based psychological intervention on the mental health and psychosocial outcomes of young people in the war-torn country of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The study found that young people who received the intervention reported significantly fewer symptoms of post-traumatic stress reactions compared to those that did not participate in the program. In addition, at 3 months after completion of the program, participants continued to show large improvements in internalizing symptoms and moderate improvements in pro-social scores, with caregivers reporting a moderate to large decline in conduct problems among the participants. Data from this study came from a sample of children and young people, n=159, age 7-18, who were attending a primary school or had finished school but were still living in a rural village in the Haut-Uele Province of northern Democratic Republic of Congo. The children in this village live in constant danger of attack and/or abduction by members of the Lord's Resistance Army. The purpose of the study was to find an effective approach for improving the mental health and psychosocial outcomes for war-affected young people living under the fear of an attack. While the findings from the study indicate that the intervention program improved the mental health and psychosocial outcomes for study participants, the study had several design flaws that make it difficult to predict the effectiveness of the program on a larger population. Study limitations are discussed. Tables, figure, and references