Table 3.
Pearson correlation coefficients of traumatic exposures and mental health problems among former child soldiers and never-abducted children.
| PTSD | Psychological distress | Emotional and Behavioral Problems | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (IES-R) | (BSI-18) | (SDQ) | ||||
| Former child | Never-abducted | Former child | Never-abducted | Former child | Never-abducted | |
| soldiers | children | soldiers | children | soldiers | children | |
| Living in camp for IDPs | −.02 | .23 | .01 | .18 | .11 | .06 |
| Father dead | −.09 | .16 | −.12 | .08 | .01 | −.03 |
| Mother dead | −.08 | .12 | −.02 | −.02 | .01 | −.12 |
| Having to carry heavy loads | .14 | .27a | −.05 | .19 | −.01 | .05 |
| Being seriously beaten | .05 | .26a | .11 | .32a | .03 | .14 |
| Getting injured | −.02 | .33a | .04 | .35a | −.03 | .06 |
| Witnessing someone being killed | .12 | .28a | .17 | .37a | .14 | .14 |
| Killing someone personally | .08 | .16 | .16 | .30a | .20 | .05 |
| Having to drink urine | .12 | .12 | .29a | .26a | .30a | .25 |
| Having to loot properties | −.01 | .20 | .03 | .16 | .12 | .09 |
| Having to punish other children | .06 | .17 | .07 | .30a | .12 | .16 |
| Having to fight | .07 | .07 | −.01 | .15 | −.02 | .15 |
| Being forced to engage in sexual contact | .08 | .20 | .08 | .40a | .06 | .14 |
| Age at abduction | −.03 | −.07 | −.07 | |||
| Length of abduction (months) | −.05 | .04 | .03 | |||
Abbreviations: PTSD: posttraumatic stress disorder; IES-R: Impact of Events Scale Revised; BSI-18: Brief Symptom Inventory 18; SDQ: Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire.
a P < .01, 2-tailed.