TY - JOUR
T1 - A qualitative study of mental health problems among children displaced by war in northern Uganda
JF - Transcult PsychiatryTranscult Psychiatry
Y1 - 2009
A1 - Betancourt, T. S.
A1 - Speelman, L.
A1 - Onyango, G.
A1 - Bolton, P.
KW - *Cross-Cultural Comparison
KW - *Developing Countries
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis/*ethnology/psychology
KW - Child
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Depressive Disorder/diagnosis/*ethnology/psychology
KW - Dysthymic Disorder/diagnosis/*ethnology/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Interview, Psychological
KW - Male
KW - Refugees/*psychology
KW - Social Problems/psychology
KW - Uganda
AB - While multiple studies have found that children affected by war are at increased risk for a range of mental health problems, little research has investigated how mental health problems are perceived locally. In this study we used a previously developed rapid ethnographic assessment method to explore local perceptions of mental health problems among children and adults from the Acholi ethnic group displaced by the war in northern Uganda. We conducted 45 free list interviews and 57 key informant interviews. The rapid assessment approach appears to have worked well for interviewing caretakers and children aged 10-17 years. We describe several locally defined syndromes: two tam/par/kumu (depression and dysthymia-like syndromes), ma lwor (a mixed anxiety and depression-like syndrome), and a category of conduct problems referred to as kwo maraco/gin lugero. The descriptions of these local syndromes were similar to western mood, anxiety and conduct disorders, but included culture-specific elements.
VL - 46
SN - 1363-4615 (Print)
1363-4615 (Linking)
N1 - Betancourt, Theresa Stichick
Speelman, Liesbeth
Onyango, Grace
Bolton, Paul
eng
K01 MH077246/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/
K01 MH077246-01A2/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
England
2009/06/23 09:00
Transcult Psychiatry. 2009 Jun;46(2):238-56. doi: 10.1177/1363461509105815.
U2 - 2775515
ER -