Parental care protects traumatized Sri Lankan children from internalizing behavior problems

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Vathsalan Sriskandarajah¹  Frank Neuner¹  Claudia Catani¹ 

[1] Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, PO Box 100131,, D-33501, Bielefeld, Germany;

关键词: Behavior Problem;    Parental Care;    Family Violence;    Externalize Behavior Problem;    Child Mental Health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-015-0583-x

 received in 2014-07-09, accepted in 2015-08-11,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundResearch in war-torn regions has mainly focused on the impact of traumatic experiences on individual mental health and has found high prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in affected adults and children. However, little is known about the possible protective factors occurring in children’s environments in the aftermath of mass trauma. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study with families in Northern Sri Lanka, a region that had been shattered by a long-lasting civil war and devastated by the Asian tsunami in 2004.MethodsSchoolchildren aged 7 to 11 (N = 359) were interviewed on the basis of standardized measures to assess children's exposure to traumatic events, mental health symptoms, and parenting behavior as perceived by children. All interviews were carried out by local senior counselors.ResultsLinear regression analyses identified exposure to mass trauma and family violence as significant risk factors of child mental health whereas parental care emerged as a significant factor associated with fewer behavior problems. In addition, parental care significantly moderated the relationship between mass trauma and internalizing behavior problems.ConclusionsFamily characteristics seem to be strongly associated with children’s mental health even in regions severely affected by mass trauma. This finding is particularly relevant for the development of targeted psychosocial interventions for children and families living in war torn areas.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Sriskandarajah et al. 2015