Table 1.
Estimated Means and Percentages (With Standard Errors) for Characteristics of Male and Female Child Soldiers, Trajectory Groups (N=323)
| Full sample (N=323) | Female Subjects (n=91) | Male Subjects (n=232) | Socially Protected (n=213) | Improving Social Integration (n=77) | Socially Vulnerable (n=33) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior War Experiences | ||||||
| Experienced the death of a parent | 32% (.03) | 38% (.05) | 29% (.03) | 27% (.03) | 40% (.06) | 50% (.09) |
| Was a victim of rape | 16% (.02) | 45% (.05) | 5% (.01) | 12% (.02) | 37% (.06) | 10% (.05) |
| Was a victim of life-threatening violence | 67% (.03) | 69% (.05) | 66% (.03) | 64% (.03) | 76% (.05) | 75% (.08) |
| Killed or injured others during the war | 26% (.02) | 23% (.04) | 28% (.03) | 19% (.03) | 32% (.06) | 66% (.09) |
| Cumulative war exposures (range 0–4) | 1.4 (.06) | 1.8 (.12) | 1.3 (.06) | 1.2 (.06) | 1.9 (.13) | 2 (.16) |
| Age of abduction/joined fighting forces (4–18) | 10.9 (.20) | 11.0 (.41) | 10.9 (.22) | 11.0 (.23) | 12.0 (.75) | 10.5 (.62) |
| Years involved with fighting forces (0.25–11) | 3.0 (.15) | 2.3 (.35) | 3.2 (.17) | 3.0 (.18) | 2.6 (.56) | 2.8 (.33) |
| Demographics at Time 4 | ||||||
| Age (21–32) | 28.0 (.21) | 27.0 (.39) | 28.4 (.24) | 27.8 (.24) | 29.2 (.92) | 27.9 (.62) |
| Male | 72% (.03) | - | - | 79% (.03) | 53% (.12) | 97% (.03) |
| Married, living with partner, or engaged | 54% (.03) | 49% (.05) | 56% (.03) | 52% (.03) | 64% (.10) | 51% (.10) |
| Has biological children | 68% (.03) | 75% (.05) | 66% (.03) | 64% (.03) | 75% (.08) | 78% (.05) |
| Adult caregivers not financially responsible for care | 70% (.03) | 69% (.05) | 70% (.03) | 67% (.03) | 85% (.07) | 76% (.05) |
| Education and Employment | ||||||
| Completed primary school | 80% (.02) | 68% (.05) | 85% (.02) | 79% (.02) | 71% (.11) | 84% (.04) |
| Currently working or self-employed | 40% (.03) | 36% (.05) | 42% (.03) | 52% (.03) | 41% (.12) | 44% (.05) |
| Currently a student | 9% (.02) | 13% (.04) | 8% (.02) | 12% (.02) | 7% (.50) | 2% (.02) |
| Community and Social Factors | ||||||
| Stigma due to being a former child soldier (0–9; α=.88) | 0.5 (.01) | 0.0 (.03) | 0.6 (.10) | 0.3 (.07) | 0.3 (.29) | 1.0 (.23) |
| Community acceptance (0–2; α=.86) | 1.5 (.02) | 1.6 (.04) | 1.5 (.02) | 1.6 (.03) | 1.6 (.48) | 1.3 (.05) |
| Family acceptance (0–2; α=.88) | 1.6 (.02) | 1.8 (.03) | 1.6 (.01) | 1.7 (.02) | 1.6 (.08) | 1.4 (.06) |
| Risk Behaviors | ||||||
| Substance use (alcohol or drug use in typical week) | 31% (.03) | 10% (.03) | 39% (.03) | 29% (.03) | 24% (.11) | 39% (.06) |
| Trouble with police/law | 5% (.01) | 2% (.02) | 6% (.02) | 3% (.01) | 11% (.06) | 11% (.04) |
| Perpetrator of IPV (assault, past year, among those with an intimate partner, n=193) | 39% (.04) | 17% (.05) | 47% (.04) | 36% (.04) | 53% (.12) | 42% (.07) |
| Mental Health | ||||||
| Prosocial attitudes (OMPA, 1–4, higher is good; α=.74) | 3.1 (.02) | 3.1 (.04) | 3.1 (.03) | 3.1 (.02) | 3.2 (.08) | 3.0 (.05) |
| Externalizing (OMPA, 1–4; α=.78) | 1.4 (.02) | 1.4 (.03) | 1.4 (.02) | 1.4 (.02) | 1.4 (.50) | 1.5 (.03) |
| Difficulties in Emotion Regulation (DERS, 1–5; α=.95) | 1.9 (.04) | 1.7 (.06) | 1.9 (.04) | 1.9 (.04) | 1.9 (.14) | 1.9 (.07) |
| Anxiety and Depression (HSCL, 1–4; α=.90) | 1.7 (.03) | 1.7 (.05) | 1.8 (.03) | 1.7 (.03) | 1.8 (.10) | 1.7 (.05) |
| Anxiety and Depression (% above clinical threshold, 1.75) | 47% (.03) | 43% (.05) | 49% (.03) | 46% (.03) | 43% (.10) | 47% (.06) |
| PTSD (PTSD-RI, 0–4; α=.86) | 1.2 (.04) | 1.0 (.08) | 1.4 (.06) | 0.6 (.02) | 0.7 (.08) | .6 (.04) |
| PTSD (% above clinical threshold) | 28% (.02) | 20% (.04) | 31% (.03) | 26% (.03) | 43% (09) | 28% (.05) |
| Ever attempted suicide (self-report) | 11% (.02) | 9% (.03) | 11% (.02) | 9% (.01) | 21% (.08) | 10% (.04) |
Note: Score ranges for non-dichotomous measures are provided in parentheses, followed by the average Cronbach’s alpha for all time periods at which the measure was collected. DERS = Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale; HSCL = Hopkins Symptoms Checklist; IPV = intimate partner violence; OMPA = Oxford Measure of Psychosocial Adjustment; PTSD-RI = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder–Reaction Index.