Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Mar-Apr;84(2):455-70.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01861.x. Epub 2012 Sep 24.

Trajectories of internalizing problems in war-affected Sierra Leonean youth: examining conflict and postconflict factors

Theresa S Betancourt  1 , Ryan McBain, Elizabeth A Newnham, Robert T Brennan
Affiliations

Trajectories of internalizing problems in war-affected Sierra Leonean youth: examining conflict and postconflict factors

Theresa S Betancourt et al. Child Dev. 2013 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Three waves of data from a prospective longitudinal study in Sierra Leone were used to examine internalizing trajectories in 529 war-affected youth (ages 10-17 at baseline; 25% female). Latent class growth analyses identified 4 trajectories: A large majority of youth maintained lower levels of internalizing problems (41.4%) or significantly improved over time (47.6%) despite very limited access to care, but smaller proportions continued to report severe difficulties 6 years postwar (4.5%) or their symptoms worsened (6.4%). Continued internalizing problems were associated with loss of a caregiver, family abuse and neglect, and community stigma. Despite the comparative resilience of most war-affected youth in the face of extreme adversity, there remains a compelling need for interventions that address family- and community-level stressors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated Mean and Predicted Trajectories of Former Child Soldiers’ Reports of Internalizing Symptoms across Three Post-war Time Points.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adjukovic M, Adjukovic D. Impact of displacement on psychological wellbeing of refugee children. International Review of Psychiatry. 1998;10:186–195.
    1. Ahmad A. Posttraumatic stress among children in Kurdistan. Acta Paediatrica. 2008;97(7):884–888. - PubMed
    1. Allwood MA, Bell-Dolan D, Husain SA. Children’s trauma and adjustment reactions to violent and nonviolent war experiences. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2002;41(4):450–457. - PubMed
    1. Annan J, Brier M. The risk of return: Intimate partner violence in Northern Uganda’s armed conflict. Social Science & Medicine. 2010;70(1):152–159. - PubMed
    1. Barenbaum J, Ruchkin V, Schwab-Stone M. The psychological aspects of children exposed to war: Practice and policy initiatives. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2004;45(1):41–62. - PubMed

Publication types