Support of former child soldiers in Nepal: How psychosocial wellbeing and function are impacted socioecologically during the reintegration stage following conflict Open Access
Morley, Christopher Andrew (2011)
Abstract
Background: There is a paucity of evidence for effective interventions to improve the mental health of child soldiers returning home after war. Most approaches emphasize family support and vocational rehabilitation. As war effectively distorts and creates profound change in children's socioecology, this change can affect normal child development, putting them at greater risk psychologically. Many children who participate in conflict often return to their homes only to find new struggles with problematic reintegration and psychological trauma. Research has demonstrated, however, that when a child is provided family and social support, they build greater resilience and show more positive reintegration outcomes, as opposed to those child soldiers with limited to no support. Objectives: Using multiple theories in a mixed methods approach, we examined how socioecological support affects the psychosocial wellbeing and function of former child soldiers in Nepal. Methods: We performed thematic analysis of 8 key informant interviews of former child soldiers which then guided bivariate and hierarchical linear regression analyses on a dataset of former child soldiers (n = 142) from 10 districts in Nepal. Results: Several overarching themes emerged from the interviews, including socioecological impact on how a child soldier manages during reintegration post-conflict, the link between hope and education, and the relationship a child has with his or her peers and daily function. Quantitative measures showed that a child's social ecology accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in hope, function, and PTSD above that accounted for by demographic variables. Specifically, a higher degree of community support was associated with a greater sense of hope, a lower level of peer support was associated with greater levels of functional impairment, and lower levels of community support were associated with higher levels of PTSD. Conclusions: As the mental health of child soldiers and other children affected by armed conflict are influenced significantly by the degree of social support, especially from peers and family members, post-conflict interventions should consider that fostering peer support, minimizing discrimination, and emphasizing educational programming can have dramatic effects on promoting resilience of reintegrating child soldiers.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents Figures & Tables Introduction 1 Research, Reintegration, & Rehabilitation 3 Theoretical Underpinning 4 Research Hypotheses 9 Literature Review 10 An Overview of Child Soldiers 10 Case Examples Demonstrating Considerations for Child Soldiers Around the World 11 Nepal and The People's War 14 Nepali CAAFAG Pilot Study 15 CAAFAG Mental Health 16 Reintegration 17 The Future of CAAFAG: Where Research Is Going 17 Methods 18 Institutional Review 18 Design 18 Participants 18 Study Instruments 20 Procedure 23 Data Analysis 24 Results 27 Discussion 51 Limitations 55 Recommendations 56 Conclusion 58 References 59
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