NIH Reporter #5R01MH128928-05

Social and Biological Mechanisms Driving the Intergenerational Impact of War on Child Mental Health: Implications for Developing Family-Based Interventions

This award funds research to study how war-related trauma affects the mental health of children and youth across generations in Sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to identify biological and behavioral mechanisms and inform family-based interventions. The study has significant implications for global public health and U.S. government efforts related to security and human rights.

Description

The proposed research is the first known effort in Sub-Saharan Africa to examine modifiable risk and protective biobehavioral mechanisms driving the intergenerational effects of war on the mental health of offspring aged 7–24. This intergenerational research of child and youth mental health will have both domestic and global public health significance given current estimates of approximately 79.5 million forcibly displaced people including refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers worldwide; an estimated 30–34 million (38–43%) are children under age 18. Many populations remain in proximity (within 31 miles) to war with approximately 368 million children and 265 million women living in areas affected by armed conflict. Potential findings may be valuable to United States Government efforts to improve security, human rights, and economic development in regions affected by armed conflict; and have implications for U.S. military personnel and their families as well as migrants and refugees from a variety of backgrounds.

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