Efforts to Promote Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Traumatized Former Child Soldiers: Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone: The Role of Caregivers and Their Awareness of the Violence Adolescents Experienced During the War.

Journal: Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma

Volume: 22

Issue: 8

Year of Publication: 

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Education and Child Development, Save the Children US, Washington, DC, USA. Department of Global Health and Population, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract summary 

This article explores the role of caregivers in the reintegration of former child soldiers from Sierra Leone. Using data on 282 youth and their respective caregivers, our aim is to focus on the caregiver-child relationship after reintegration. We investigate the extent to which caregivers know about child soldiers' experiences of direct and indirect violence, as well as involvement in war activities. We further examine variables that might shape the degree of caregiver knowledge of child's war experiences. Finally, we examine if caregiver knowledge of war experiences is associated with child's psychosocial outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of developing thoughtful programs that consider the needs of the child in the context of the family and caregivers with whom he or she is reunified.

Authors & Co-authors:  Borisova Betancourt Willett

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations :  Ager A. What is family? The nature and functions of families in times of conflict. In: Boothby N, Strang A, Wessells M, editors. A world turned upside down: Social ecological approaches to children in war zones. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press; 2006. pp. 39–63.
Authors :  3
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1080/10926771.2013.824059
SSN : 1092-6771
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Other Terms
Sierra Leone;child soldiers;exposure to violence;family;mental health;war
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Sierra leone
Publication Country
United States