Sexual and gender-based violence in areas of armed conflict: a systematic review of mental health and psychosocial support interventions

Background
Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence are common in conflict settings and are known risk factors for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. We present findings from a systematic review of the academic and grey literature focused on the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial support interventions for populations exposed to sexual and other forms of gender-based violence in the context of armed conflicts.
Methods

Interventions for children affected by war: an ecological perspective on psychosocial support and mental health care

Background
Children and adolescents exposed to armed conflict are at high risk of developing mental health problems. To date, a range of psychosocial approaches and clinical/psychiatric interventions has been used to address mental health needs in these groups.
Aims
To provide an overview of peer-reviewed psychosocial and mental health interventions designed to address mental health needs of conflict-affected children, and to highlight areas in which policy and research need strengthening.
Methods

Broadening the scope of epidemiology in conflict-affected settings: opportunities for mental health prevention and promotion.

This editorial proposes a shift in emphasis in the field of mental health epidemiology in conflict-affected settings. After a brief summary of the nature of contemporary armed conflicts, we consider the current and potential roles that epidemiology can play with regard to: (1) establishing the burden of mental disorders; (2) identifying risk and protective factors; and (3) intervention research.

Mental health in humanitarian settings: shifting focus to care systems.

Mental health in low- and middle income countries has received increasing attention. This attention has shifted focus, roughly moving from demonstrating the burden of mental health problems, to establishing an evidence base for interventions, to thinking about care delivery frameworks. This paper reviews these trends specifically for humanitarian settings and discusses lessons learned.

No evidence for a specific link between malingering and delayed-onset PTSD [Comment on: Malingering and PTSD: Detecting malingering and war related PTSD by Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST)].

BACKGROUND:
Malingering is prevalent in PTSD, especially in delayed-onset PTSD. Despite the attempts to detect it, indicators, tools and methods to accurately detect malingering need extensive scientific and clinical research. Therefore, this study was designed to validate a tool that can detect malingering of war-related PTSD by Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST).
METHODS:

The role of stress sensitization in progression of posttraumatic distress following deployment

Purpose
Military personnel exposed to combat are at risk for experiencing post-traumatic distress that can progress over time following deployment. We hypothesized that progression of post-traumatic distress may be related to enhanced susceptibility to post-deployment stressors. This study aimed at examining the concept of stress sensitization prospectively in a sample of Dutch military personnel deployed in support of the conflicts in Afghanistan.
Method

"Who can you tell?": features of Arab culture that influence conceptualization and treatment of childhood sexual abuse.

The literature on child sexual abuse reflects growing recognition of the manner in which culture impacts the conceptualization, experience, and treatment of such cases. Despite heightened visibility of Arab Americans within the United States, population due to recent media attention, little empirical research exists on the occurrence of child sexual abuse within this population.

Father‐Involvement in a Refugee Sample: Relations between Posttraumatic Stress and Caregiving

Despite increased attention to the role of fathers within families, there is still a dearth of studies on the impact of trauma on father-involvement. This study investigates the quantity of father-involvement and the influence of posttraumatic stress on the quality of involvement in a refugee and asylum seeker population. Eighty refugees and asylum seekers and their young children (aged 18–42 months) were recruited.

Prevalence of Nightmare Disorder in Psychiatric Outpatients

Nightmares can cause great suffering as they disturb sleep, affect
daily functioning and overall well-being. They are associated with
psychopathology like anxiety disorders, more specifically posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, personality pathology, suicide
risk, and substance abuse [1, 2] . Two to five percent of the general
adult population suffers from one or more nightmares a week
[3, 4] . One study of psychiatric patients with more severe psychopathology
showed a prevalence rate of 39.8% of ‘bad dreams that disturbed

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