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Rehabilitating civilian victims of war through psychosocial intervention in S ierra L eone
Author(s) -
Mughal Ushna,
Carrasco Diego,
Brown Rupert,
Ayers Susan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12322
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , psychosocial , psychology , sierra leone , anxiety , clinical psychology , rehabilitation , psychiatry , psychological intervention , neuroscience , development economics , economics
This research assessed an intervention (involving drug therapy and psychoeducational counseling) for war trauma in Sierra Leone. We examine the impact of the intervention on symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and indicators of intergroup emotions and attitudes. Civilian war victims were drawn from a rehabilitation program ( Intervention, N =50) or a waiting list Control group ( N =50). The rehabilitation program combined general psychiatric treatment with additional life skills support. Those in the Intervention group had significantly lower PTSD symptoms and also scored lower on Intergroup Anxiety and Outgroup Blame, than those in Control . The intervention had an indirect effect on PTSD symptoms through Intergroup Anxiety. The reduction in PTSD in the intervention was greater for participants with a stronger identification with Sierra Leone.