Assessing the Impact of Violence and War on Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Song, Suzan J.; Shaheen, Mohammed

doi:10.1007/s10566-013-9204-3

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In recent decades, wars have exerted a disproportionate burden on low- and middle-income countries. 23 These nations have significantly fewer resources available to revive the health, education, legal and logistical systems necessary to support post-conflict recovery. As such, government and non-governmental agencies must make difficult decisions to direct the few resources available to programmes that will provide the greatest benefit in recovery and rebuilding after conflict.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Youth mental health after civil war: The importance of daily stressors

et al. 2015

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BackgroundRecent evidence suggests that post-conflict stressors in addition to war trauma play an important role in the development of psychopathology.AimsTo investigate whether daily stressors mediate the association between war exposure and symptoms of post-traumatic stress and depression among war-affected youth.MethodStandardised assessments were conducted with 363 Sierra Leonean youth (26.7% female, mean age 20.9, s.d. = 3.38) 6 years post-war.ResultsThe extent of war exposures was significantly associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms (P<0.05) and a significant proportion was explained by indirect pathways through daily stressors (0.089, 95% CI 0.04–0.138, P<0.001). In contrast, there was little evidence for an association from war exposure to depression scores (P = 0.127); rather any association was explained via indirect pathways through daily stressors (0.103, 95% CI 0.048–0.158, P<0.001).ConclusionsAmong war-affected youth, the association between war exposure and psychological distress was largely mediated by daily stressors, which have potential for modification with evidence-based intervention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Youth mental health after civil war: The importance of daily stressors

et al. 2015

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“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO), youth exposed to war and home displacement may develop mental disorders including depression, suicide ideation, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), and substance abuse ( 5 ). Armed violence and war in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) pose a greater burden on existing mental health infrastructure due to a lack of resources ( 10 ). Song et al highlight the need for more research to better characterize the mental health needs of people in LMICs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

War Experience, Daily Stressors and Mental Health Among the Inter-taliban Generation Young Adults in Northern Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional School-Based Study

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesThe specific objectives of the study are to examine the mental health (depression and anxiety) of the first generation of post-Taliban government and compare these measures with its preceding generation, and to assess war experience of the first generation of post-Taliban government. We also wanted to assess the daily stressors and their contribution to the mental health, and to assess mental health as a result of war experiences and daily stressors with respect to demographic measures such as sex, marital status, age, mother's age, birth order, and ethnicities.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, 621 high school students, were randomly selected to participate in the study to assess war experience, daily stressors, and mental health among the first generation of young adults under post-Taliban government.ResultsThe participants had 17.37 ± 0.9 mean years of ages, 94.8% of them were unmarried. Poor mental health was significantly associated with higher exposure to war, but not with the age of participants (P = 0.08). There was no association between war experiences and the age and ethnicity of our participants (p = 0.9, p = 0.7). Age differences were negligible for daily stressors too (P = 0.07). Daily stressors scores were higher for female than male students (P = 0.02). The majority of young adults surveyed, declared themselves in agreement with statements such as the security situation in Afghanistan makes me frustrated (56%), air pollution as a concern (41%), and not having anyone to talk about what is in their heart (28.8%). Gender differences were highly significant for mental health, as appraised by both The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL) –depression and HSCL-anxiety. Girls presented higher rates of depression, anxiety, and daily stressors than boys, and boys presented higher rates of war experiences than girls.ConclusionWar experience, daily stressors, and mental health were irrelevant with age, ethnicity and marital status. Factor such as being the first-born child of the family, higher reported war experiences, and daily stressors all negatively impact mental health. Alongside war and its direct effects, the existing socio-cultural context must be considered as a potential factor mediating the mental health of girls in Afghanistan.

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“…Just as disaster responses influence post-disaster re-development, a nation's pre-disaster capability will influence any disaster response that becomes necessary. Low- and middle-income countries are at greater risk of experiencing natural disasters 21 ( 100 , 101 ) and the outbreak of armed conflict ( 102 , 103 ), and simultaneously have health systems and national infrastructure that is less able to withstand the additional burden created by such events ( 100 , 104 ). In pursuit of health systems strengthening and disaster preparedness, the international civilian and military medical community should seek to form strong and enduring partnerships with those nations most at risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical disaster response: A critical analysis of the 2010 Haiti earthquake

Arnaouti¹,

Cahill²,

Baird³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionOn January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Republic of Haiti. The human cost was enormous—an estimated 316,000 people were killed, and a further 300,000 were injured. The scope of the disaster was matched by the scope of the response, which remains the largest multinational humanitarian response to date. An extensive scoping review of the relevant literature was undertaken, to identify studies that discussed the civilian and military disaster relief efforts. The aim was to highlight the key-lessons learned, that can be applied to future disaster response practise.MethodsPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidance was followed. Seven scientific databases were searched, using consistent search terms—followed by an analysis of the existent Haitian literature. This process was supplemented by reviewing available grey literature. A total of 2,671 articles were reviewed, 106 of which were included in the study. In-depth analysis was structured, by aligning data to 12 key-domains, whilst also considering cross-sector interaction (Civilian-Civilian, Military-Military, and Civilian-Military). Dominant themes and lessons learned were identified and recorded in an online spreadsheet by an international research team. This study focuses on explicitly analysing the medical aspects of the humanitarian response.ResultsAn unpreceded collaborative effort between non-governmental organisations, international militaries, and local stakeholders, led to a substantial number of disaster victims receiving life and limb-saving care. However, the response was not faultless. Relief efforts were complicated by large influxes of inexperienced actors, inadequate preliminary needs assessments, a lack of pre-existing policy regarding conduct and inter-agency collaboration, and limited consideration of post-disaster redevelopment during initial planning. Furthermore, one critical theme that bridged all aspects of the disaster response, was the failure of the international community to ensure Haitian involvement.ConclusionsNo modern disaster has yet been as devastating as the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Given the ongoing climate crisis, as well as the risks posed by armed conflict—this will not remain the case indefinitely. This systematic analysis of the combined civilian and military disaster response, offers vital evidence for informing future medical relief efforts—and provides considerable opportunity to advance knowledge pertaining to disaster response.

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Assessing the Impact of Violence and War on Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract: Background Research is needed to understand the effects of violence and armed conflict

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Youth mental health after civil war: The importance of daily stressors

Youth mental health after civil war: The importance of daily stressors

War Experience, Daily Stressors and Mental Health Among the Inter-taliban Generation Young Adults in Northern Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional School-Based Study

Medical disaster response: A critical analysis of the 2010 Haiti earthquake

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