Levey Elizabeth J, Laird Lance D, Becker Anne E, Harris Benjamin L, Lekpeh G Gondah, Oppenheim Claire E, Henderson David C, Borba Christina P C
The Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 151 Merrimac St, 4th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Cult Med Psychiatry. 2018 Dec;42(4):947-979. doi: 10.1007/s11013-018-9599-2.
Between 1989 and 2003, Liberia experienced a brutal civil war characterized by ethnic killings, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers. Five years after the war ended, half the population of Liberia was under 18 years old. Understanding the needs of these youth is thus essential to the recovery of the nation. This study focuses on the narratives of two female adolescents, selected from 75 in-depth individual interviews with post-conflict Liberian youth conducted in 2012. A narrative analysis approach was employed to examine each interview for multiple layers of meaning. The aim of the study was to elucidate factors that may enable post-conflict youth to reclaim a sense of agency and return to normal developmental tasks. The study explores the ways in which these youth navigate complicated power dynamics in the post-conflict setting and how gender impacts their experiences of their own agency and capability. The dynamics between the participants and the interviewer are explored to further illustrate how power dynamics manifest. These narratives support the involvement of youth in projects that help others as an avenue for promoting agency and resilience for themselves.
1989年至2003年期间，利比里亚经历了一场残酷的内战，其特点是种族屠杀、性暴力以及使用儿童兵。战争结束五年后，利比里亚一半的人口年龄在18岁以下。因此，了解这些年轻人的需求对于国家的恢复至关重要。本研究聚焦于两名女性青少年的叙述，她们是从2012年对利比里亚冲突后青年进行的75次深入个人访谈中挑选出来的。采用叙事分析方法来审视每次访谈的多层含义。该研究的目的是阐明可能使冲突后青年重新获得能动性并回归正常发展任务的因素。该研究探讨了这些青年在冲突后环境中应对复杂权力动态的方式，以及性别如何影响他们对自身能动性和能力的体验。探讨了参与者与访谈者之间的动态关系，以进一步说明权力动态是如何显现的。这些叙述支持让青年参与帮助他人的项目，将其作为促进自身能动性和恢复力的途径。
