Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda.
BACKGROUND: The war in northern Uganda has had a debilitating effect on the mental health of children and adolescents in the population. This study measures the prevalence and considers the aetiology of psychological distress in war-affected adolescents 4 years after the end of the conflict. METHOD...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
|
| _version_ | 1826283916476022784 |
|---|---|
| author | McMullen, J O'Callaghan, P Richards, J Eakin, J Rafferty, H |
| author_facet | McMullen, J O'Callaghan, P Richards, J Eakin, J Rafferty, H |
| author_sort | McMullen, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | BACKGROUND: The war in northern Uganda has had a debilitating effect on the mental health of children and adolescents in the population. This study measures the prevalence and considers the aetiology of psychological distress in war-affected adolescents 4 years after the end of the conflict. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 205 adolescents, aged 12-19, from a boarding primary school in Gulu, northern Uganda. A war experiences checklist was developed with the assistance of local professionals. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) measured post-traumatic stress symptoms. Finally, the Acholi Psychosocial Assessment Instrument (APAI) was used to measure locally described mental health constructs similar to the Western concepts of depression and anxiety. RESULTS: Four years after the end of the war, 57% of the students were still found to have clinically significant levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms using a similar cut-off score to previous studies among the same population. Both components of traumatic exposure: (i) the number of types of traumatic event experienced; and (ii) whether the adolescent was abducted were significantly associated with psychological distress. There was a strong correlation between post-traumatic stress symptoms and internalising symptoms. CONCLUSION: War-affected adolescents may continue to suffer from significant psychological stress in the years following the cessation of conflict. Multiple exposure to a number of different types of traumatic event may directly increase the likelihood of psychological distress especially for those exposed to the most extreme violence. The feasibility of employing a locally developed and validated screening instrument is demonstrated. Implications for future research and intervention in post-conflict areas are considered. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:06:01Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:8b5d6bb3-22dc-4af8-8652-01a42b51f9a0 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:06:01Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:8b5d6bb3-22dc-4af8-8652-01a42b51f9a02022-03-26T22:37:38ZScreening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:8b5d6bb3-22dc-4af8-8652-01a42b51f9a0EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2012McMullen, JO'Callaghan, PRichards, JEakin, JRafferty, H BACKGROUND: The war in northern Uganda has had a debilitating effect on the mental health of children and adolescents in the population. This study measures the prevalence and considers the aetiology of psychological distress in war-affected adolescents 4 years after the end of the conflict. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 205 adolescents, aged 12-19, from a boarding primary school in Gulu, northern Uganda. A war experiences checklist was developed with the assistance of local professionals. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) measured post-traumatic stress symptoms. Finally, the Acholi Psychosocial Assessment Instrument (APAI) was used to measure locally described mental health constructs similar to the Western concepts of depression and anxiety. RESULTS: Four years after the end of the war, 57% of the students were still found to have clinically significant levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms using a similar cut-off score to previous studies among the same population. Both components of traumatic exposure: (i) the number of types of traumatic event experienced; and (ii) whether the adolescent was abducted were significantly associated with psychological distress. There was a strong correlation between post-traumatic stress symptoms and internalising symptoms. CONCLUSION: War-affected adolescents may continue to suffer from significant psychological stress in the years following the cessation of conflict. Multiple exposure to a number of different types of traumatic event may directly increase the likelihood of psychological distress especially for those exposed to the most extreme violence. The feasibility of employing a locally developed and validated screening instrument is demonstrated. Implications for future research and intervention in post-conflict areas are considered. |
| spellingShingle | McMullen, J O'Callaghan, P Richards, J Eakin, J Rafferty, H Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda. |
| title | Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda. |
| title_full | Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda. |
| title_fullStr | Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda. |
| title_short | Screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war-affected adolescents in post-conflict northern Uganda. |
| title_sort | screening for traumatic exposure and psychological distress among war affected adolescents in post conflict northern uganda |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mcmullenj screeningfortraumaticexposureandpsychologicaldistressamongwaraffectedadolescentsinpostconflictnorthernuganda AT ocallaghanp screeningfortraumaticexposureandpsychologicaldistressamongwaraffectedadolescentsinpostconflictnorthernuganda AT richardsj screeningfortraumaticexposureandpsychologicaldistressamongwaraffectedadolescentsinpostconflictnorthernuganda AT eakinj screeningfortraumaticexposureandpsychologicaldistressamongwaraffectedadolescentsinpostconflictnorthernuganda AT raffertyh screeningfortraumaticexposureandpsychologicaldistressamongwaraffectedadolescentsinpostconflictnorthernuganda |