Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T17:07:21.880Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mental health and psychosocial support for children in areas of armed conflict: call for a systems approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

M. J. D. Jordans
Affiliation:
Centre for Global Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK, email mark.jordans@kcl.ac.uk
W. A. Tol
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This paper focuses on the question of whether separate attention to children who have faced specific conflict-related events is justified, or whether the scarce resources for mental health should be spent on the development of services for children more broadly in low- and middle-income countries (where most contemporary armed conflicts are taking place). It is argued that a systems approach to mental health and psychosocial support for children is warranted.

Type
Special Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015

References

Attanayake, V., McKay, R., Joffres, M., et al (2009) Prevalence of mental disorders among children exposed to war: a systematic review of 7,920 children. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 25, 317.Google Scholar
Barenbaum, J., Ruchkin, V. & Schwab-Stone, M. (2004) The psychosocial aspects of children exposed to war: practice and policy initiatives. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 4162.Google Scholar
Barry, M., Clarke, A., Jenkins, R., et al (2013) A systematic review of the effectiveness of mental health promotion interventions for young people in low and middle income countries. BMC Public Health, 13, 835.Google Scholar
Belfer, M. (2008) Child and adolescent mental disorders: the magnitude of the problem across the globe. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 3, 226236.Google Scholar
Betancourt, T., Brennan, R., Rubin-Smith, J., et al (2010) Sierra Leone's former child soldiers: a longitudinal study of risk, protective factors and mental health. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 606615.Google Scholar
Betancourt, T., Meyers-Ohki, S., Charrow, A., et al (2013) Interventions for children affected by war: an ecological perspective on psychosocial support and mental health care. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 21, 7091.Google Scholar
Catani, C., Kohiladevy, M., Ruf, M., et al (2009) Treating children traumatized by war and tsunami: a comparison between exposure therapy and meditation-relaxation in north-east Sri Lanka. BMC Psychiatry, 9, 22.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E., Watson, P., Bell, C. C., et al (2007) Five elements of immediate and mid-term mass trauma intervention: empirical evidence. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 70, 283315.Google Scholar
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (2007) IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. IASC.Google Scholar
Jordans, M. J. D., Komproe, I. H., Tol, W. A., et al (2009a) Screening for psychosocial distress amongst war affected children: cross-cultural construct validity of the CPDS. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 514523.Google Scholar
Jordans, M. J. D., Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., et al (2009b) Systematic review of evidence and treatment approaches: psychosocial and mental health care for children in war. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 14, 214.Google Scholar
Jordans, M. J. D., Komproe, I. H., Tol, W. A., et al (2011) Practice-driven evaluation of a multi-layered psychosocial care package for children in areas of armed conflict. Community Mental Health Journal, 47, 267277.Google Scholar
Jordans, M. J. D., Semrau, M., Thornicroft, G., et al (2012) Role of current perceived needs in explaining the association between past trauma exposure and distress in humanitarian settings in Jordan and Nepal. British Journal of Psychiatry, 201, 276281.Google Scholar
Kieling, C., Baker-Henningham, H., Belfer, M., et al (2011) Child and adolescent mental health worldwide: evidence for action. Lancet, 378, 15151525.Google Scholar
Kohrt, B. A., Jordans, M. J. D., Tol, W. A., et al (2008) Comparison of mental health between former child soldiers and children never conscripted by armed groups in Nepal. JAMA, 300, 691702.Google Scholar
Mendenhall, E., De Silva, M. J., Hanlon, C., et al (2014) Acceptability and feasibility of using non-specialist health workers to deliver mental health care: stakeholder perceptions from the PRIME district sites in Ethiopia, India, Nepal, South Africa, and Uganda. Social Science and Medicine, 118, 3342.Google Scholar
Miller, K. E. & Rasmussen, A. (2010) War exposure, daily stressors, and mental health in conflict and post-conflict settings: bridging the divide between trauma-focuses and psychosocial frameworks. Social Science and Medicine, 70, 716.Google Scholar
Stichick, T. (2001) The psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children: rethinking traditional paradigms in research and intervention. Child Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 10, 797814.Google Scholar
Tol, W. A., Barbui, C., Galappattti, A, et al (2011) Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: linking practice and research. Lancet, 378, 111.Google Scholar
Tol, W. A., Barbui, C. & van Ommeren, M. (2013a) Management of acute stress, PTSD, and bereavement: WHO recommendations. JAMA, 310, 477478.Google Scholar
Tol, W. A., Song, S. & Jordans, M. J. D. (2013b) Annual research review: resilience and mental health in children and adolescents living in areas of armed conflict – a systematic review of findings in low- and middle-income countries. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 445460.Google Scholar
United Nations (2014) Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General. United Nations General Assembly Security Council.Google Scholar
van Ginneken, N., Tharyan, P., Lewin, S., et al (2011) Non-specialist health worker interventions for mental health care in low- and middle-income countries. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11, CD009149.Google Scholar
Williams, R. (2006) The psychosocial consequences for children and young people who are exposed to terrorism, war, conflict and natural disasters. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 19, 337349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (2010) mhGAP Intervention Guide for Mental, Neurological and Substance Use Disorders in Non-Specialized Health Settings. WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2013) Building Back Better: Sustainable Mental Health Care After Emergencies. WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organization & Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (2014) Social Determinants of Mental Health. WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.