Intervention – Journal of Mental Health and Psychological Support in Conflict Affected Areas
November 2014 – Volume 12 – Issue 3 pp: 320-468
http://journals.lww.com/interventionjnl/pages/currenttoc.aspx

Special Section: Rehabilitation processes of former child soldiers
Introduction to the Special Section on former child soldiers’ rehabilitation: connecting individual and communal worlds
Derluyn, Ilse; De Haene, Lucia; Vandenhole, Wouter; Reiffers, Relinde; Tankink, Marian
[No abstract]

‘I Can’t Go Home’. Forced migration and displacement following demobilisation: the complexity of reintegrating former child soldiers in Colombia
Denov, Myriam; Marchand, Ines
Abstract
This paper examines the reintegration experiences of a group of demobilised youth who were associated with various armed groups during the course of ongoing armed conflict in Colombia. In particular, the paper traces how the realities of forced migration and displacement profoundly shape and inform their reintegration experiences. Drawing upon qualitative interviews with a sample of 22 former child soldiers, the authors highlight the key challenges and impacts participants faced as a result of forced migration and displacement, particularly in relation to family, place, and (in) security. Our study indicates that despite these ongoing challenges, and within a context of ongoing war and armed violence, these former child soldiers have been able to lead industrious and productive lives through their commitment to education, employment and peer support.

Protective and risk factors of psychosocial wellbeing related to the reintegration of former child soldiers in Nepal
Adhikari, Ramesh Prasad; Kohrt, Brandon A.; Luitel, Nagendra Prasad; Upadhaya, Nawaraj; Gurung, Dristy; Jordans, Mark J.D.
Abstract
This paper explores protective and risk factors for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing among 300 child solders (verified minors) through a longitudinal study. Both the Hopkins Symptoms Check list and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (civilian version) were used to measure mental health problems, while the Generalised Estimating Equation was used to identify both the protective and risk factors over time. Anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder decreased over a nine month period, while depression prevalence did not change. Social support, inter-caste marriage, low caste and residence in far western geographic regions were all associated with greater mental health problems. Rehabilitation packages were not associated with improved mental health, and former child solders enrolled in vocational programmes had greater posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. The findings suggest that strong social support is needed, as rehabilitation packages alone may be insufficient to improve mental health.

Unfulfilled promises, unsettled youth: the aftermath of conflict for former child soldiers in Yumbe District, north western Uganda
Both, Jonna; Reis, Ria

Child soldiers or war affected children? Why the formerly abducted children of northern Uganda are not child soldiers
Angucia, Margaret

Harnessing traditional practices for use in the reintegration of child soldiers in Africa: examples from Liberia and Burundi
Babatunde, Abosede Omowumi

Rebuilding the social fabric: community counselling groups for Rwandan women with children born as a result of genocide rape
Hogwood, Jemma; Auerbach, Carl; Munderere, Sam; More

Emergency psychiatric care in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Goodfriend, Marlene; ter Horst, Rachel; Pintaldi, Giovanni;

Key factors that facilitate intergroup dialogue and psychosocial healing in Rwanda: a qualitative study
King, Régine Uwibereyeho

Examining promising practice: an integrated review of services for young survivors of sexual violence in Liberia
Landis, Debbie; Stark, Lindsay