From war to classroom : PTSD and depression in formerly abducted youth in Uganda

Background: Trained local screeners assessed the mental-health status of male and female students in Northern Ugandan schools. The study aimed to disclose potential differences in mental health-related impairment in two groups, former child soldiers (n = 354) and other war-affected youth (n = 489), as well as to separate factors predicting mental suffering in learners.

Methods: Participants were randomly selected. We used the Post-Traumatic Diagnostic Scale to assess symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and for potential depression the respective section of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist with a locally validated cut-off.

Results: Almost all respondents had been displaced at least once in their life. 30% of girls and 50% of the boys in the study reported past abduction history. Trauma exposure was notably higher in the group of abductees. In former child soldiers, a PTSD rate of 32% was remarkably higher than that for non-abductees (12%). Especially in girls rates of potential depression were double those in the group of former abductees (17%) than in the group of non-abductees (8%). In all groups, trauma exposure increased the risk of developing PTSD. A path-analytic model for developing PTSD and potential depression revealed both previous trauma exposure as well as duration of abduction to have significant influences on trauma-related mental suffering. Findings also suggest that in Northern Ugandan schools trauma spectrum disorders are common among war-affected learners.

Conclusions: Therefore, it is suggested the school context should be used to provide mental-health support structures within the education system for war-affected youth at likely risk of developing war-related mental distress.

Fachgebiet (DDC)

150 Psychologie

Schlagwörter

child soldiers, war-affected youth, PTSD, war-trauma exposure, post-conflict mental-health support programs

Zitieren

ISO 690

WINKLER, Nina, Martina RUF-LEUSCHNER, Verena ERTL, Anett PFEIFFER, Inga SCHALINSKI, Emilio OVUGA, Frank NEUNER, Thomas ELBERT, 2015. From war to classroom : PTSD and depression in formerly abducted youth in Uganda. In: Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2015, 6, 2. eISSN 1664-0640. Available under: doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00002

BibTex

@article{Winkler2015class-31059,
  year={2015},
  doi={10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00002},
  title={From war to classroom : PTSD and depression in formerly abducted youth in Uganda},
  volume={6},
  journal={Frontiers in Psychiatry},
  author={Winkler, Nina and Ruf-Leuschner, Martina and Ertl, Verena and Pfeiffer, Anett and Schalinski, Inga and Ovuga, Emilio and Neuner, Frank and Elbert, Thomas},
  note={Article Number: 2}
}

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    <dcterms:abstract xml:lang="eng">Background: Trained local screeners assessed the mental-health status of male and female students in Northern Ugandan schools. The study aimed to disclose potential differences in mental health-related impairment in two groups, former child soldiers (n = 354) and other war-affected youth (n = 489), as well as to separate factors predicting mental suffering in learners.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Methods: Participants were randomly selected. We used the Post-Traumatic Diagnostic Scale to assess symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and for potential depression the respective section of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist with a locally validated cut-off.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Results: Almost all respondents had been displaced at least once in their life. 30% of girls and 50% of the boys in the study reported past abduction history. Trauma exposure was notably higher in the group of abductees. In former child soldiers, a PTSD rate of 32% was remarkably higher than that for non-abductees (12%). Especially in girls rates of potential depression were double those in the group of former abductees (17%) than in the group of non-abductees (8%). In all groups, trauma exposure increased the risk of developing PTSD. A path-analytic model for developing PTSD and potential depression revealed both previous trauma exposure as well as duration of abduction to have significant influences on trauma-related mental suffering. Findings also suggest that in Northern Ugandan schools trauma spectrum disorders are common among war-affected learners.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Conclusions: Therefore, it is suggested the school context should be used to provide mental-health support structures within the education system for war-affected youth at likely risk of developing war-related mental distress.</dcterms:abstract>
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