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Posttraumatic Resilience in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers
Author(s) -
Klasen Fionna,
Oettingen Gabriele,
Daniels Judith,
Post Manuela,
Hoyer Catrin,
Adam Hubertus
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01456.x
Subject(s) - psychology , posttraumatic stress , psychopathology , psychological resilience , intervention (counseling) , socioeconomic status , clinical psychology , depression (economics) , poison control , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , emotional disorder , injury prevention , posttraumatic growth , psychiatry , developmental psychology , anxiety , psychotherapist , medicine , medical emergency , population , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics
The present research examines posttraumatic resilience in extremely exposed children and adolescents based on interviews with 330 former Ugandan child soldiers (age = 11–17, female = 48.5%). Despite severe trauma exposure, 27.6% showed posttraumatic resilience as indicated by the absence of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and clinically significant behavioral and emotional problems. Among these former child soldiers, posttraumatic resilience was associated with lower exposure to domestic violence, lower guilt cognitions, less motivation to seek revenge, better socioeconomic situation in the family, and more perceived spiritual support. Among the youth with significant psychopathology, many of them had symptoms extending beyond the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, in keeping with the emerging concept of developmental trauma disorder. Implications for future research, intervention, and policy are discussed.