The Psychological Impact of War and the Refugee Situation on South Sudanese Children in Refugee Camps in Northern Uganda: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study on the psychosocial effects of the war situation and subsequent flight on South Sudanese children who were compared to a group of Ugandan children who did not have these experiences of war and flight. In addition to the independent variables such as sociodemographic variables and traumatic events and daily life stress, the dependent variable psychological consequences--according to parents and children themselves--as well as the influence of the mediating factors of social support and coping behaviour are presented. Results showed that Sudanese refugee children had experienced significantly more traumatic events and suffered more daily hassles than the Ugandese comparison group. They were less satisfied with the social support they received. At the same time, they used more coping modes. Compared to Ugandan children, the Sudanese reported significantly more PTSD-like complaints, behavioural problems, and depressive symptoms.

Survivors of Political Violence: Conceptualizations, Empirical Findings, and Ecological Interventions

“…Researchers' choices of instruments indicate that there is no commonly accepted measure to assess exposure to political violence. Some authors adopt scales developed in previous studies (e.g., Haj-Yahia 2008;Kerestes 2006) while others revise and adapt them (e.g., Jones and Kafetsios 2005;McAloney et al 2009;Paardekooper et al 1999). For example, McAloney et al (2009) andPaardekooper et al (1999) drew on scales from the 'Harvard Trauma Questionnaire' in order to assess experiences of political violence in samples of children.…”

“…Some authors adopt scales developed in previous studies (e.g., Haj-Yahia 2008;Kerestes 2006) while others revise and adapt them (e.g., Jones and Kafetsios 2005;McAloney et al 2009;Paardekooper et al 1999). For example, McAloney et al (2009) andPaardekooper et al (1999) drew on scales from the 'Harvard Trauma Questionnaire' in order to assess experiences of political violence in samples of children. The measurement used by McAloney et al (2009) comprised nine experiences categorized into three types of violent events: knowledge of violence, witnessing violence and direct victimization.…”

“…These seem to mimic the previously reviewed conceptual frameworks adopted in the epidemiological studies. The psychological discourse focuses upon understanding the effects of political violence on individuals by observing them through the lens of Western diagnostic criteria for mental health (e.g., Basoglu et al 1994;Goenjian et al 2000;Paardekooper et al 1999;Thabet et al 2004;Thabet and Vostanis 1999). The ecological discourse, on the other hand, has a multilevel focus that includes individuals, families, neighborhoods and other institutional systems (Cummings et al 2009;Dubow et al 2009).…”

“…Most studies using these conceptual frameworks employed simple research designs: they have explored differences between groups (e.g., Basoglu et al 1994;Goenjian et al 2000;Paardekooper et al 1999), determined correlations between scores of exposure to political violence and scores of psychological measures (e.g., Goenjian et al 2000), and tested regression models (e.g., Thabet et al 2004;Thabet et al 2004). Some researchers have controlled individual characteristics such as age, gender, coping style, or ideological commitment.…”

“…High levels of PTSD and depression among children exposed to political violence were indicated in studies that used reports from parents or teachers or self-reports from children (Paardekooper et al 1999;Thabet and Vostanis 1999;Thabet et al 2004). Significant positive correlations were reported between scores from different measures of psychological symptoms and exposure to political violence (Thabet and Vostanis 1999;Thabet et al 2004).…”