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Abstract
Currently, there are over 300,000 children who are fighting in
armed conflicts across 87 countries worldwide. The prevalence
of psychopathology in child soldiers has become increasingly
controversial regarding their ability to be resilient or suffer
from mental distress. The purpose of this paper is to identify
risk and protective factors associated with child soldiering and
determine how they influence a childs resilience or lack
thereof. Results reveal that children who are abducted and
forced to become soldiers experience negative psychopathology if they lack protective support, but others are resilient despite their traumatic experiences. The poster concludes with a
discussion of possible factors that could affect a child's ability
to display resilience in the face of war trauma.
Abduction
Risk
Factors
Exposure Length
Gender
Negative
Mental
Health
Stigma
Child Soldier
Community
Acceptance
Protective
Factors
Education
Psychological Effects
Resilient
Outcome
Research Objective
This poster will focus on the psychological effects of warrelated trauma on children based on their experiences as a
child soldier, with an overall goal to summarize literature
based on the following questions:
- What are the psychological effects of children directly
exposed to war-related trauma?
From my synthesis of the literature, I identified four factors that contribute to mental distress:
1. Abduction
Child Soldier
-Any person below 18 years of age who is or who has
been recruited by an armed force in any capacity,
including boys and girls, used as fighters, spies, or for
sexual purposes (United Nations International
Childrens Emergency Fund 2007).
- According to the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), 2 million children have been killed by
conflict over the last decade and there are at least
300,000 child soldiers operating in 30 different conflicts
across the globe.
2. Community Acceptance
- Greater community acceptance has demonstrated
increased prosocial attitudes & behaviors
2. Length of Conscription
- Extensive duration of war exposure is associated with
greater mental distress (Blattman et al. 2010).
3. Education
3. Gender
4. Stigma
- Child soldiers are often stigmatized by their community
for the acts of cruelty they performed during
conscription (Derluyn et al. 2004).
(Rutter, 2006).
- Developing Resilience
Okello, Onen,
& Musisi
Uganda
(2007)
Resilience Theories
Resilience
- A relative resistance to environmental risk experiences,
or the overcoming of stress or adversity
Prevalence of Psychopathology
- Psychological effects of warfare include depression,
anxiety, and PTSD.
Resiliency
Clarification of Terms
From my synthesis of the literature, I identified three factors that contribute to a resilient outcome:
Betancourt
et al.
(2010)
Methodology
Subjects completed a set of
questionnaires that assessed
psychological disturbance,
SES factors, and trauma
events.
Sample Size
(Boy/Girl/Total)
Abducted:
54 / 28 / 82
Non-Abducted:
43 / 28 / 71
Time 1:
231 / 28 / 259
Time 2:
199 / 79 / 278
Associations with
War
Exposures
Killed Another:
93% (Ab), 8%(Non)
Witnessed Murder:
72%(Ab), 28%(Non)
Mental Health
Outcome
Beaten/Tortured:
71%(Ab), 29%(Non)
Killed Another: 28%
Witnessed Murder:
88%
References
Beaten/Tortured: 37%
Klasen et al.
(2010)
Uganda
Self-Report questionnaires
were given to formerly abducted children to assess trauma
severity PTSD & Depression
outcome, and Posttraumatic
Resilience.
Witnessed Murder:
88%
Betancourt, T.S., Agnew-Blais, J., Gilman, S.E., Williams, D.R., & Ellis, B.H. (2010). Past horrors, present struggles: The role of stigma in the association between war experiences and psychosocial adjustment among former
child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Social Science and Medicine, 70, 17-26.
Betancourt, T.S., Borisova, I.I., Williams, T.P., Whitfield, T.H., Williamson, J. Brennan, R.T., Soudiere, M. , &
Gilman, S.E. (2010). Sierra Leones Former Child Soldiers: A Follow-Up Study of Psychosocial Adjustment an
Community Reintegration. Child Development, 81, 1077-1095.
Cortes, L. & Buchanan, M.J. (2007). The experience of Columbian child soldiers from a resilience perspective. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 29, 43-55.
Derluyn, I., Broekaert, E., Schuyten,G., & Temmerman, E. (2004). Post-traumatic stress in former Ugandan child
soliders. The Lancet, 363, 861-863.
Klasen, F. , Daniels, J., Oettingen, G., Post, M., Hoyer, C., & Adam, H. (2010). Posttraumatic Resilience in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers. Child Development, 81, 1096-1113.
Kohrt, B.A., Jordans, M.J., Tol, W.A., Speckman, R.A., Maharjan, S.M., Worthman, C.M., & Komproe, I.H.
(2008). Comparision of mental health between former child soldiers and children never conscripted by armed
groups in Nepal. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 300, 691-702.
Okello, J., Onen, T.S., & Musisi (2007). Psychiatric disorders among war-abducted and non-abducted adolescents
in Gulu district, Uganda: a comparative study. African Journal of
Psychiatry, 225-231.
United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund. (2007).
Paris principles: Principles and guidelines on children associated with
armed forces or armed conflict. New York.