Trauma and Truth Interventions (NET) Versus Conflict Resolution and Social Skills Trainings for Vulnerable Youths in Northern Uganda

University of Konstanz

Status: Completed

Conditions: Aggression; PTSD; Depression

Treatments: Behavioral: Traditional Ways of Coping; Behavioral: Conflict Resolution and Social Competence Skills; Behavioral: NET Truth Education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00893750

NE1390/2.1_UKon

Details and patient eligibility

About

More than 300,000 children are fighting in armed conflicts all over the world. In Uganda an estimated number of 25,000 children have been abducted and forced to fight or work as porters and sex slaves on the side of the rebels during the conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. Each year, thousands of former child soldiers have returned to their communities after they had fled or were freed from the rebels. It is well known that a high percentage of these youths are suffering from mental health problems. This could be one of the possible reasons why they are facing difficulties to reintegrate into their communities.

The main aim of the proposed project is two-fold. On the one hand, the investigators want to systematically explore the relationship between mental health and important variables for reintegration into the communities like aggression, hostility, feelings of revenge, compromises and conflict behaviour and readiness for reconciliation in formerly abducted and other vulnerable youth (orphans, child mothers and handicapped youths) in Northern Uganda. On the other hand, the investigators want to probe the efficacy of existing and newly developed interventions for formerly abducted and other vulnerable youths that are supposed to foster their mental well-being as well as their reintegration into the society and therewith are part of the long-term prevention of new conflicts in Northern Uganda.

Enrollment: 600 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 to 30 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• for individual NET Treatment: PTSD diagnosis
• for group interventions: all youths in the selected vocational training centres will be included

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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600 participants in 3 patient groups

NET Truth Education

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: NET Truth Education

Conflict Resolution Trainings

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Conflict Resolution and Social Competence Skills

Traditional Methods

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Traditional Ways of Coping