The association between post-traumatic stress-related symptoms, resilience, current stress and past exposure to violence: a cross sectional study of the survival of Quechua women in the aftermath of the Peruvian armed conflict
“The long lasting resilience of individuals and communities affected by mass violence has not been given equal prominence as their suffering. This has often led to psychosocial interventions in post-conflict zones being unresponsive to local realities and ill-equipped to foster local strengths. Responding to the renewed interest in resilience in the field of violence and health, this study examines the resilience and post-traumatic responses of Indigenous Quechua women in the aftermath of the political violence in Peru (1980–2000).”
Advancing the right to health: The vital role of law
This report aims to raise awareness about the role that the reform of public health laws can play in advancing the right to health and in creating the conditions for people to live healthy lives. By encouraging a better understanding of how public health law can be used to improve the health of the population, the report aims to encourage and assist governments to reform their public health laws in order to advance the right to health.
The report highlights important issues that may arise during the process of public health law reform. It provides guidance about issues and requirements to be addressed during the process of developing public health laws. It also includes case studies and examples of legislation from a variety of countries to illustrate effective law reform practices and some features of effective public health legislation.
BASIC Ph – The Story of Coping Resources
Coping skills can be understood as resources that are available and that the person is capable of utilising in challenging situations.
http://www.espct.eu/fileadmin/espct/documents/articles/BASIC_PhLahadDG.docx
Mental Health & Psychosocial Network
The MHPSS Network is a growing global platform for connecting people, networks and organizations, for sharing resources and for building knowledge related to mental health and psychosocial support both in emergency settings and in situations of chronic hardship. We aspire to building and shaping good practice in support of people affected by difficult events or circumstances.
Study of community-based child protection mechanisms in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
By mapping existing community-based protection initiatives, structures and approaches, the study intended to identify effective and sustainable community-based mechanisms and offer recommendations in order to help support the development of its community-based child protection strategy in Uganda and in the DRC.
https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/child-protection-mechanisms-uganda-drc.pdf
Understanding and coping with traumatic stress, Part Three: Cultural issues
Traumatic stress is not just a problem for western humanitarian workers who relocate (usually temporarily) to developing countries and disaster zones for the sake of their job. In fact, the majority of humanitarian workers worldwide are from non-western cultural backgrounds, working in their home country (from page 12).
Posttraumatic resilience in former Ugandan child soldiers
Child development. The present research examines posttraumatic resilience in extremely exposed children and adolescents based on interviews with 330 former Ugandan child soldiers. Despite severe trauma exposure, 27.6% showed posttraumatic resilience as indicated by the absence of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and clinically significant behavioral and emotional problems. Among these former child soldiers, posttraumatic resilience was associated with lower exposure to domestic violence, lower guilt cognitions, less motivation to seek revenge, better socioeconomic situation in the family, and more perceived spiritual support. Among the youth with significant psychopathology, many of them had symptoms extending beyond the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, in keeping with the emerging concept of developmental trauma disorder.
Resilience and recovery after war: Refugee children and families in the United States
When working with refugee children and their families, the most effective practitioners provide comprehensive services, are culturally competent, and integrate evidence-based practice with practice-based evidence. Truly rich multicultural practice involves a process of community engagement that allows for dialogue, questioning, and adaptation of practice to fit a group’s beliefs and values while still providing culturally informed, effective care.
http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/refugees-full-report.pdf
Psychology Beyond Borders
PBB is committed to international leadership in evidence-informed psychosocial preparedness, prevention and response to disasters, armed conflict and terrorism. As part of this broad mission, Psychology Beyond Borders is committed to enhancing understanding, policy and practice in four key areas: Preparedness,Prevention,Repetitive exposure to disaster and Resilience.
The mental health of children affected by armed conflict: Protective processes and pathways to resilience
This paper examines the concept of resilience in the context of children affected by armed conflict. Resilience has been frequently viewed as a unique quality of certain invulnerable children. In contrast, this paper argues that a number of protective processes contribute to resilient mental health outcomes in children when considered through the lens of the child’s social ecology.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18569183