Child Led Indicators: pilot testing a child participation tool for psychosocial support programmes for former child soldiers in Nepal

Karki, Rohit; Kohrt, Brandon A.; Jordans, Mark J. D.

doi:10.1097/wtf.0b013e3283302725

Cited by 58 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Resilience-promotion interventions may be more easily delivered in such contexts and may have more buy-in from beneficiaries compared with psychiatric interventions (53,54). For example, child soldiers identified the ability to help others, to help their country, and to reduce discrimination in society as more important mental health goals than reduction of symptoms such as nightmares and flashbacks (55). This aspiration-based approach reflects previous findings in WEIRD populations linking a self-transcendent purpose in life (eudaimonic well-being) to reduced CTRA gene expression (22)(23)(24).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological resilience and the gene regulatory impact of posttraumatic stress in Nepali child soldiers

Kohrt

Worthman

Adhikari³

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adverse social conditions in early life have been linked to increased expression of proinflammatory genes and reduced expression of antiviral genes in circulating immune cells-the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA). However, it remains unclear whether such effects are specific to the Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) cultural environments in which previous research has been conducted. To assess the roles of early adversity and individual psychological resilience in immune system gene regulation within a non-WEIRD population, we evaluated CTRA gene-expression profiles in 254 former child soldiers and matched noncombatant civilians 5 y after the People's War in Nepal. CTRA gene expression was up-regulated in former child soldiers. These effects were linked to the degree of experienced trauma and associated distress-that is, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severitymore than to child soldier status per se. Self-perceived psychological resilience was associated with marked buffering of CTRA activation such that PTSD-affected former child soldiers with high levels of personal resilience showed molecular profiles comparable to those of PTSD-free civilians. These results suggest that CTRA responses to early life adversity are not restricted to WEIRD cultural contexts and they underscore the key role of resilience in determining the molecular impact of adverse environments.biocultural anthropology | child abuse | global mental health | low-income countries | social genomics

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological resilience and the gene regulatory impact of posttraumatic stress in Nepali child soldiers

Kohrt

Worthman

Adhikari³

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Children living in civic unrest are forced to become child-soldiers. This phenomenon exists due to lack of protection enforcement in the midst of political upheaval (Karki et al 2009;Murphy 2003;Stovel 2008). The aftermath of such instabilities is lost generations which challenges prosperity agendas.…”

Section: Hdi and Children's Protection Rightsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Patterns of Human Development Indicators Across Constitutional Analysis of Children’s Rights to Protection, Provision, and Participation

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Having opportunities to express feelings, promote belong ing and increase social cohesiveness were considered first steps for the successful reintegration of child soldiers. Child soldiers participating in our research highlighted goals of 'feelings of belonging', 'being respected and listened to', 'having opportunities to express feelings' and 'dealing with fear, regret, and hopelessness' (Karki et al, 2009).…”

Section: Principle 2 Balance Research Costs and Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we focused on normative language related to Nepali concepts of the heart and mind. This language gave children a therapeutic oppor tunity to share feelings and emotionally support other children in a non-stigmatising atmosphere (Karki et al, 2009). …”

Section: Transition From Relief To Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participatory research avoids this by providing strong connections between research and intervention salient to the local community. We adopted a participatory method to develop 'child-led indicators', in a process conducted over 3 days with groups of eight to ten child soldiers (Karki et al, 2009). Child soldiers identified psycho social problems affecting them and processes to address these needs.…”

Section: Principle 3 Connection To Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Four principles of mental health research and psychosocial intervention for child soldiers: lessons learned in Nepal

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Child soldiers represent a challenging population for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), as we have little evidence regarding their needs or the efficacy of interventions. Despite an increasing breadth of MHPSS interventions for children affected by war, very few are supported by evidence (Jordans et al, 2009). In a recent decade-long conflict, Maoists and the government of Nepal conscripted thousands of children to serve as soldiers, sentries, spies, cooks and porters. After the war ended in 2006, we began a project incorporating research into the development of interventions for former child soldiers. Through this work, conducted with Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, we identified four key principles to guide research and intervention with child soldiers (Fig. 1). We present these principles as location- and context-specific examples of the growing effort to develop guidelines and recommendations for research and intervention in acute post-conflict settings (Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2007; Allden et al, 2009).

show abstract

Child Led Indicators: pilot testing a child participation tool for psychosocial support programmes for former child soldiers in Nepal

Cited by 58 publications

References 11 publications

Psychological resilience and the gene regulatory impact of posttraumatic stress in Nepali child soldiers

Psychological resilience and the gene regulatory impact of posttraumatic stress in Nepali child soldiers

Patterns of Human Development Indicators Across Constitutional Analysis of Children’s Rights to Protection, Provision, and Participation

Four principles of mental health research and psychosocial intervention for child soldiers: lessons learned in Nepal

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About