Psychological and Scholastic Effects in Adolescent Victims of Ethnic Cleansing
Abstract
The psychological and scholastic effects in adolescent victims of ethnic cleansing will be explored longitudinally over a period of 10 years. Twenty adolescent refugees between the ages of 5 and 18 who experienced a mass genocide, will be recruited to participate. Participants will be given the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DISC); (Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, & Shwab-Stone, 2000), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); (Groth-Marnat, 1990). Adolescents who show symptoms for either/both post traumatic stress syndrome PTSD and/or depression will be asked to consent to further tests and interviews over the following 10 years. The adolescents, who experienced similar acts of genocide, but who currently show no symptoms of either PTSD or depression will also be asked to consent for further tests and interviews every 2 years, for over the following 10 years. The participants will be retested and re-interviewed every 2 years, checking for changes in structural abnormalities, fundamental behavioral changes, mood disorders, academic achievement fluctuations, which will be measured by the adolescent 's school records, and an increase or decrease in symptoms of PTSD and/or depression. It is hypothesized that adolescent victims of genocide will demonstrate a high incidence of PTSD and/or depression, as well as a decrease in academic achievement and educational pursuits for at least up to 10 years later.
Psychological and Scholastic Effects in Adolescent Victims of Ethnic Cleansing The lives of many adolescent refugees have been seriously disrupted by the trauma of war and cultural uprooting (Watters C, 2001). As a result, refugee children may exhibit signs of major psychological distress (Kinzie, Sack, Angell, Clarke, & Roth, 1989). Studies conducted have demonstrated a high correlation between genocidal trauma (i.e., torture, atrocities, and forced resettlement) and the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and
The psychological and scholastic effects in adolescent victims of ethnic cleansing will be explored longitudinally over a period of 10 years. Twenty adolescent refugees between the ages of 5 and 18 who experienced a mass genocide, will be recruited to participate. Participants will be given the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DISC); (Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, & Shwab-Stone, 2000), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); (Groth-Marnat, 1990). Adolescents who show symptoms for either/both post traumatic stress syndrome PTSD and/or depression will be asked to consent to further tests and interviews over the following 10 years. The adolescents, who experienced similar acts of genocide, but who currently show no symptoms of either PTSD or depression will also be asked to consent for further tests and interviews every 2 years, for over the following 10 years. The participants will be retested and re-interviewed every 2 years, checking for changes in structural abnormalities, fundamental behavioral changes, mood disorders, academic achievement fluctuations, which will be measured by the adolescent 's school records, and an increase or decrease in symptoms of PTSD and/or depression. It is hypothesized that adolescent victims of genocide will demonstrate a high incidence of PTSD and/or depression, as well as a decrease in academic achievement and educational pursuits for at least up to 10 years later.
Psychological and Scholastic Effects in Adolescent Victims of Ethnic Cleansing The lives of many adolescent refugees have been seriously disrupted by the trauma of war and cultural uprooting (Watters C, 2001). As a result, refugee children may exhibit signs of major psychological distress (Kinzie, Sack, Angell, Clarke, & Roth, 1989). Studies conducted have demonstrated a high correlation between genocidal trauma (i.e., torture, atrocities, and forced resettlement) and the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and
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