Vindevogel Sofie, Schryver Maarten de, Broekaert Eric, Derluyn Ilse
Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
Paediatr Int Child Health. 2013 Nov;33(4):281-91. doi: 10.1179/2046905513Y.0000000084.
Armed conflict imposes huge hardship on young people living in war zones. This study assessed former child soldiers' experience and perception of stress in common war events during the armed conflict in northern Uganda and compares it with their non-recruited counterparts.
To investigate whether child soldiers experienced more severe exposure to war events, and explore how war might affect youths differently, depending on the co-occurrence of these events.
The study was undertaken in four northern Ugandan districts in 22 secondary schools with a sample size of 981 youths, about half of whom had been child soldiers. The participants completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics and stressful war events which was analyzed using descriptive statistics, a probabilistic index and correlation network analysis.
Former child soldiers had significantly greater experience of war events than their non-recruited counterparts. The violence of war is more central in their experience and perception of stress, whereas the scarcity of resources and poor living conditions are most central for non-recruited participants. The extent to which a war event, such as separation from the family, is perceived as stressful depends on the experience and perception of other stressful war events, such as confrontation with war violence for former child soldiers and life in an Internally Displaced Persons' camp for non-recruited participants.
The network approach permitted demonstration of the many ways in which war-affected youths encounter and appraise stressful war events. War events might function as moderators or mediators of the effect that other war events exert on the lives and well-being of young people living in war zones. This demands comprehensive and individualized assessment.
武装冲突给生活在战区的年轻人带来了巨大苦难。本研究评估了乌干达北部武装冲突期间前儿童兵在常见战争事件中的经历和压力感知，并将其与未被招募的同龄人进行比较。
调查儿童兵是否经历了更严重的战争事件暴露，并探讨战争如何根据这些事件的同时发生对年轻人产生不同影响。
该研究在乌干达北部四个地区的22所中学进行，样本量为981名年轻人，其中约一半曾是儿童兵。参与者完成了一份关于社会人口特征和压力性战争事件的问卷，并使用描述性统计、概率指数和相关网络分析进行了分析。
前儿童兵比未被招募的同龄人有更丰富的战争事件经历。战争暴力在他们对压力的体验和感知中更为核心，而资源匮乏和生活条件差对未被招募的参与者来说最为核心。诸如与家人分离等战争事件被感知为压力的程度取决于对其他压力性战争事件的体验和感知，例如前儿童兵面临战争暴力，未被招募的参与者在境内流离失所者营地的生活。
网络方法能够展示受战争影响的年轻人遭遇和评估压力性战争事件的多种方式。战争事件可能作为其他战争事件对生活在战区的年轻人的生活和福祉产生影响的调节因素或中介因素。这需要进行全面和个性化的评估。
