Child mental health and trauma

Recommended

Child Development in the Context of Disaster, War, and Terrorism: Pathways of Risk and Resilience

This review draws on research conducted into the effects of extreme adversities that lead to mass trauma, such as natural disasters, terrorism, and war, on child development. It highlights fundamental adaptive systems that help build resilience among children and youth facing extreme adversities and emphasises the importance of parental figures and of restoring high quality…

Publication year: 2012
Content Type: Academic paper

Recommended

Mental Health of Displaced and Refugee Children Resettled in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: Risk and Protective Factors

This systematic review draws on data around displacement to low- and middle-income countries, providing evidence for individual, family, community, and societal risk and protective factors that affect displaced children’s mental health. They highlight that exposure to violence is a well-established risk factor for poor mental health among children, and call attention to the challenges faced…

Publication year: 2012
Content Type: Academic paper

Impact of Armed Conflict on Children

The report, presented in 1996 to the UN General Assembly, described the brutality millions of children caught up in conflicts were exposed to and demonstrated the centrality of this issue to the international human rights, development and peace and security agendas. The author identified children as the primary victims of armed conflict and included a…

Publication year: 1996
Content Type: Report

Risk and Resilience for Psychological Distress Amongst Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Adolescents

This paper aims to investigate the level of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms, and background risk and protective factors that might increase or ameliorate this distress amongst unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents (UASC). Cross-sectional survey carried out in London. Participants were 78 UASC aged 13–18 years, predominantly from the Balkans and Africa, compared with 35…

Publication year: 2008
Content Type: Academic paper

Interventions for Children Affected by Armed Conflict: A Systematic Review of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Low-and Middle-Income Countries

Over one billion children under the age of 18 live in countries affected by armed conflict. This systematic review replicates an earlier study, aiming to provide a comprehensive update of the most current developments in interventions for children affected by armed conflict. Although the number of publications and level of evidence has improved since the…

Publication year: 2016
Content Type: Academic paper

Screening for Traumatic Exposure and Psychological Distress Among War-Affected Adolescents in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda

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. This is a cross-sectional study of 205 adolescents, aged 12–19,…

Publication year: 2012
Content Type: Academic paper

Children and Young People Who Are Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons or Survivors or Perpetrators of War, Mass Violence and Terrorism

This article draws upon articles published since 2009 to identify research evidence about the psychosocial aspects of children and young people’s responses to their exposure to war, collective violence and terrorism. Recent research describes children’s distress and the disorders they may develop consequent on their direct and indirect exposure to war. This article covers general…

Publication year: 2012
Content Type: Academic paper

Manual on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies and Displacement

The Manual on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Emergencies and Displacement describes the process IOM MHPSS programme managers should follow to design and implement relevant programmes in the aftermath of an emergency and with displaced populations. While designed for IOM MHPSS programmes, the manual was compiled with the support of 100 experts…

Publication year: 2019
Content Type: Toolkit

Social Determinants of Health – A Comparative Study of Bosnian Adolescents in Different Cultural Contexts

This study investigated the effects of sociocultural contexts on health and the psychological well-being of immigrant adolescents, aged 15 to 18 years, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina and now living as displaced persons either in Bosnia, or immigrants in Croatia and Austria. The study addresses the social determinants of health with a specific focus on…

Publication year: 2006
Content Type: Academic paper

Community-Based Approaches to MHPSS Programmes: A Guidance Note

Community-based approaches to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (CB MHPSS) in emergencies are based on the understanding that communities can be drivers for their own care and change and should be meaningfully involved in all stages of MHPSS responses. Emergency-affected people are first and foremost to be viewed as active participants in improving individual and…

Publication year: 2019
Content Type: Toolkit

Maternal, Not Paternal, PTSD Related to Increased Risk for PTSD in Offspring of Holocaust Survivors

A significant association between parental PTSD and the occurrence of PTSD in offspring has been noted, consistent with the idea that risk for the development of PTSD is transmitted from parent to child. Two recent reports linking maternal PTSD and low offspring cortisol prompted us to examine the relative contributions of maternal vs. paternal PTSD…

Publication year: 2008
Content Type: Academic paper

Teaching About Refugees: Guidance on Working with Refugee Children Struggling with Stress and Trauma

This document provides guidance for teachers working with refugee children. The document presents the different factors that affect children who are exposed to armed conflict and displacement, what symptoms of trauma and stress children of different ages (young children, school children, young adults) display , and how practitioners can help those children. The document provides…

Publication year: 2019
Content Type: Report

Depressive Symptomology Among Namibian Adolescent Refugees

Symptoms of depression have been considered rare in sub-Saharan populations. Using a standard assessment measure of depressive symptomatology, the Beck Depression Inventory, the prevalence of symptoms of depression was obtained from a group (N = 56) of Namibian refugees (ages 12-23) residing in a sub-Saharan host country. Average time spent in host country 5 years.…

Publication year: 1985
Content Type: Academic paper

The Effects of Armed Conflict on Children

This study provides overview of the effect of conflict and displacement on children’s physical and mental health. It gives insight into particular vulnerabilities of child soldiers and unaccompanied minors and separated children; and it presents an overview of some studies that have worked on interventions to mitigate effects of conflict and displacement on children’s physical…

Publication year: 2018
Content Type: Academic paper

War-Related Exposure and Psychological Distress as Predictors of Health and Sleep: A Longitudinal Study of Kuwaiti Children

This article aims to determine whether exposure to war-related trauma during childhood predicted posttraumatic stress, self-reported health, sleep, and obesity in adulthood, and whether psychological distress mediated the relationships. They assessed 151 Kuwaiti boys and girls aged 9 to 12 years in 1993 to determine their level of exposure to war-related trauma during the Iraqi…

Publication year: 2009
Content Type: Academic paper

Operational Guidelines on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings: Three-Tiered Support for Children and Families

The guidelines offer practical information and tools to implement a range of MHPSS interventions to rapidly address the protection and psychosocial support needs of children and families, in parallel with tailored mental health interventions for those most in need. They are intended for UNICEF staff, partners and other agencies in humanitarian settings to help effectively…

Publication year: 2018
Content Type: Toolkit

War, Conflict and Play

This book provides an overall view of the impact of war and displacement on children and their development. It notes that children can be affected by direct exposure to conflict but also by indirect factors such as the emotional state of their carers. While play can have a hugely positive effect on children’s development and…

Publication year: 2005
Content Type: Book

Posttraumatic Play: Towards Acceptance and Resolution

This article examines the issues surrounding childhood trauma and PTP. It uses a case study to illustrate the phases of a play therapy approach that incorporates Ericksonian principles, in order for the child to achieve resolution and acceptance. The countertransference issues that a clinician may encounter also are discussed.

Publication year: 2007
Content Type: Academic paper

War and Children

This book looks at the record of children in modern war told honestly and completely, by two of the world’s outstanding child psychologists, Anna Freud and Dorothy Burlingham. The work focuses on how war affects psychological development in children; the need for personal attachment, for emotional stability, and for permanency of educational influence.

Publication year: 1943
Content Type: Book

Practical Approaches to Dramatherapy: The Shield of Perseus

This book focuses on the application on dramatherapy in diverse contexts. The authors explain how sessions are shaped and how dramatherapy works, whether with individuals or groups. The book highlights the potential of dramatherapy and provides practical examples and advice.

Publication year: 2000
Content Type: Book

Different Perspectives on Emotional and Behavioural Problems in Unaccompanied Refugee Children and Adolescents

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in unaccompanied refugee children and adolescents living in Belgium. A total of 166 unaccompanied refugee children and adolescents, living in different large- and small-scale centres, in foster care or alone, participated in the study. Between 37 and 47% of the unaccompanied refugee youths…

Publication year: 2007
Content Type: Academic paper

Preventive Mental Health Interventions for Refugee Children and Adolescents in High-Income Settings

This review describes interventions that are delivered to refugee children, interventions with parents and schools, and broader cultural and socioeconomic interventions. The author notes that due to the multidimensional challenges that refugee children face, it is important to do ‘comprehensive psychological interventions’ as well as ‘restoring and supporting the social and physical environment’ so that…

Publication year: 2018
Content Type: Academic paper

Emotional Problems in Palestinian Children Living in a War Zone: A Cross-Sectional Study

This articles reports on a study conducted in Palestine with 91 children (9-18 years) who were exposed to their homes being bombarded and demolished during Al Aqsa Intifada and 89 children (controls) who had not, but who witnessed bombardment by helicopters, saw mutilated bodies on television, heard about the conflict in the media or were…

Publication year: 2002
Content Type: Academic paper

Psychosocial Intervention for War-Affected Children in Sierra Leone

PLAN international and UNESCO worked on a psychosocial pilot project to normalise ‘displaced children’s lives and alleviate psychological distress by participating in non formal education, trauma healing and recreation activities’. A psychosocial assessment study was conducted with 8-17 year-old displaced children in Sierra Leone to assess emotional and mental health of the children after the…

Publication year: 2008
Content Type: Academic paper

Thematic Area: Child mental health and trauma

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