Participation as Principle and Tool in Social Reintegration: Young Mothers Formerly Associated with Armed Groups in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Northern Uganda
TL;DR: This article explored an intervention that placed girls' participation as a central organizing principle, and examined how young mothers transformed their identity and membership within communities of return through drama, songs and poetry, and engagement in social actions.
Abstract: Experience of traumatic stressors within armed groups can negatively impact social cognitions of mastery, self-efficacy, and control. This could be compounded by postreturn conditions of stigma, little access to education, and limited means of livelihood. We explore an intervention that placed girls’ participation as a central organizing principle. Based on study reports and ethnographic field work, we examine how young mothers transformed their identity and membership within communities of return through drama, songs and poetry, and engagement in social actions. Meaningful participation offers a culturally grounded intervention in which the impacts of traumatic stressors on individual functioning and the social relational world are directly targeted, resulting in a positive modification of developmental trajectories for young women and, ultimately, their children.
Citations
More filters
74 citations
TL;DR: International research on child soldiers might serve to inform research on gang-involved youth in the United States, and the importance of understanding trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress reactions as both risks for and consequences of participation in both forms of armed groups is discussed.
Abstract: This article examines ways in which international research on child soldiers might serve to inform research on gang-involved youth in the United States In particular, we discuss the importance of understanding trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress reactions as both risks for and consequences of participation in both forms of armed groups In addition, we point to the value of expanding our view of trauma to include dimensions that have yielded important insights in the study of child soldiers, including developmental trauma disorder, perpetration-induced trauma, and the unique sequelae of sexual victimization for girls The roles of ethnic pride and ideology, moral agency, and the processes that promote desistance and reintegration of former child soldiers and gang members are discussed Finally, we suggest that future research on children in armed groups should give consideration not only to psychological constructs like resilience and post-traumatic growth, but to social forces that can promote pro
38 citations
Cites background from "Participation as Principle and Tool..."
...Although intervention for PTSD typically is a component of reintegration programs for child soldiers, efforts also go beyond psychological treatment to address the larger economic and sociocultural disparities that might have contributed to child soldiers’ vulnerability to recruitment by armed groups in the first place, particularly among girls (Annan et al., 2013; Veale et al., 2013)....
[...]
...Female child combatants who return to their communities with children borne of the sexual abuse they endured in armed groups are triply stigmatized: as former child soldiers, as sexually “impure,” and as unwed mothers (Veale et al., 2013)....
[...]
...…soldiers, efforts also go beyond psychological treatment to address the larger economic and sociocultural disparities that might have contributed to child soldiers’ vulnerability to recruitment by armed groups in the first place, particularly among girls (Annan et al., 2013; Veale et al., 2013)....
[...]
...…victimization is a major impediment to the successful reintegration and psychological recovery of female former child soldiers (Annan et al., 2013; Veale et al., 2013) and in gang culture, studies suggest that initiation into a gang through being “sexed in” is associated with low status and…...
[...]
...In particular, the stigma associated with sexual victimization is a major impediment to the successful reintegration and psychological recovery of female former child soldiers (Annan et al., 2013; Veale et al., 2013) and in gang culture, studies suggest that initiation into a gang through being “sexed in” is associated...
[...]
TL;DR: The authors explored the intergenerational complexities of wartime sexual violence and abuse and highlighted the ways in which research, policy, practice, and public health programming can begin to address their complex needs.
34 citations
TL;DR: This paper examines the realities and perspectives of a sample of 60 children born of wartime rape within the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and currently living in northern Uganda to address and reverse young people's perceptions that "war is better than peace".
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the social, psychological, and economic lives of 40 adults who were abducted as children and used as child combatants and conclude that the majority of former child soldiers have become productive, capable, and caring adults.
Abstract: Journalistic accounts in 1988 labeled Mozambique's child soldiers as “future barbarians.” Our research suggests evidence to the contrary. The majority of former child soldiers we followed have become productive, capable, and caring adults. This article discusses the social, psychological, and economic lives of 40 adults who were abducted as children and used as child combatants. It is based on a longitudinal study that began when the boys were placed in a rehabilitation center and continued for 16 years after they were reintegrated into communities. It summarizes findings on their psychological status, with a focus on post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology, and presents further findings gained through ethnographic research on social, religious-spiritual, political, and economic factors that enabled or hindered reintegration and adaptation.
24 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: Thematic analysis is a poorly demarcated, rarely acknowledged, yet widely used qualitative analytic method within psychology as mentioned in this paper, and it offers an accessible and theoretically flexible approach to analysing qualitative data.
Abstract: Thematic analysis is a poorly demarcated, rarely acknowledged, yet widely used qualitative analytic method within psychology. In this paper, we argue that it offers an accessible and theoretically flexible approach to analysing qualitative data. We outline what thematic analysis is, locating it in relation to other qualitative analytic methods that search for themes or patterns, and in relation to different epistemological and ontological positions. We then provide clear guidelines to those wanting to start thematic analysis, or conduct it in a more deliberate and rigorous way, and consider potential pitfalls in conducting thematic analysis. Finally, we outline the disadvantages and advantages of thematic analysis. We conclude by advocating thematic analysis as a useful and flexible method for qualitative research in and beyond psychology.
103,789 citations
"Participation as Principle and Tool..." refers methods in this paper
...This was a form of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006)....
[...]
Book•
01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: This work has shown that legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice is not confined to midwives, tailors, quartermasters, butchers, non-drinking alcoholics and the like.
Abstract: In this important theoretical treatist, Jean Lave, anthropologist, and Etienne Wenger, computer scientist, push forward the notion of situated learning - that learning is fundamentally a social process. The authors maintain that learning viewed as situated activity has as its central defining characteristic a process they call legitimate peripheral participation (LPP). Learners participate in communities of practitioners, moving toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community. LPP provides a way to speak about crucial relations between newcomers and old-timers and about their activities, identities, artefacts, knowledge and practice. The communities discussed in the book are midwives, tailors, quartermasters, butchers, and recovering alcoholics, however, the process by which participants in those communities learn can be generalised to other social groups.
43,846 citations
"Participation as Principle and Tool..." refers background or methods in this paper
...As Lave and Wenger (1991) noted, changing roles and forms of participation in communities of pratice accompanies shifts in power and ways of relating....
[...]
...Lave and Wenger (1991) offered a model of communities of practice that recognizes dynamics of power, conflict, and challenge that might exist between different participants in a field of practice as interests converge and diverge....
[...]
...Agency, as used here, refers to the interrelationship between an individual acting in the world and the social context, where “agent, activity, and the world mutually constitute each other” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 33)....
[...]
...To do this, we used a sociocultural psychological account of participation as embedded in social activity (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1997) to understand how young mothers engaged with the social (personnel), material (money), and symbolic (dialogue, drama) resources within their…...
[...]
...There is also a developmental momentum as the individual becomes a more expert user of the cultural tools needed to “function well” in that community (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1997)....
[...]
Book•
01 Jan 2003TL;DR: In this article, the authors present concepts and ways of understanding the cultural nature of human development and the transformation of participation in cultural activities in families and communities, as well as the transition in individuals' roles in their communities.
Abstract: 1. Orienting concepts and ways of understanding the cultural nature of human development 2. Development as transformation of participation in cultural activities 3. Individuals, generations and dynamic cultural communities 4. Child rearing in families and communities 5. Developmental transitions in individuals' roles in their communities 6. Interdependence and autonomy 7. Thinking with the tools and institutions of culture 8. Learning through guided participation in cultural endeavours 9. Cultural change and relations among communities
5,048 citations
"Participation as Principle and Tool..." refers background or methods in this paper
...To do this, we used a sociocultural psychological account of participation as embedded in social activity (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1997) to understand how young mothers engaged with the social (personnel), material...
[...]
...There is also a developmental momentum as the individual becomes a more expert user of the cultural tools needed to “function well” in that community (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1997)....
[...]
...To do this, we used a sociocultural psychological account of participation as embedded in social activity (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1997) to understand how young mothers engaged with the social (personnel), material (money), and symbolic (dialogue, drama) resources within their…...
[...]
Book•
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: Minkler et al. as mentioned in this paper introduced the concept of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and the growing support for CBPR, focusing on the fight to eliminate health disparities.
Abstract: Tables, Figures, and Exhibits. The Editors. The Contributors. Acknowledgments. PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH. One: Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research: New Issues and Emphases (Meredith Minkler and Nina Wallerstein). The Growing Support for CBPR. Semantics and Core Principles. CBPR and the Fight to Eliminate Health Disparities. Goals of This Book: Continuing Concerns and New Emphases. Organization of This Book. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Two: The Theoretical, Historical, and Practice Roots of CBPR and Related Participatory Traditions (Nina Wallerstein and Bonnie Duran). Historical Roots. Core Concepts and New Theories. Feminism, Poststructuralism, and Postcolonialism. Paulo Freire and Praxis. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Three: Critical Issues in Developing and Following Community-Based Participatory Research Principles (Barbara A. Israel, Amy J. Schulz, Edith A. Parker, Adam B. Becker, Alex J. Allen III, and J. Ricardo Guzman). CBPR Definition and Key Principles. Issues in Developing and Following CBPR Principles. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Four: Bringing Experimental Design to Community-Partnered Participatory Research (Loretta Jones, Paul Koegel, and Kenneth B. Wells). Using CPPR as a Framework. The Fit Between Designs and Projects. Experimental Design Lessons from the Building Wellness Pilot. Applying the Lessons: CPIC. The Road Ahead for CPIC. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. PART TWO: POWER, TRUST, AND DIALOGUE: WORKING WITH DIVERSE COMMUNITIES IN COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH. Five: The Dance of Race and Privilege in Community-Based Participatory Research (Vivian Chavez, Bonnie Duran, Quinton E. Baker, Magdalena M. Avila, Nina Wallerstein). Framework of Oppression and Racism. Translating Culture. White Privilege. Building Alliances Across Differences. Recommendations for Research and Practice. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Six: Are Academics Irrelevant? Approaches and Roles for Scholars in Community-Based Participatory Research (Randy Stoecker). Options for the Academic. Recommendations for the Academic. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Seven: Community-Based Participatory Research with Cambodian Girls in Long Beach, California: A Case Study (Ann Cheatham-Rojas and Eveline Shen). ACRJ and the HOPE Projects. Setting the Stage for Participatory Research. Identifying Sexual Harassment as an Issue. Researching the Problem. Moving into Action. Khmer Girls in Action: A Youth-Led Organization Is Born. Lessons Learned. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Eight: CBPR with a Hidden Population: The Transgender Community Health Project a Decade Later (Kristen Clements-Nolle and Ari Max Bachrach). The Transgender Community and the CBPR Study. Project Impact over Ten Years. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. PART THREE: SELECTING ISSUES AND EVALUATING OUTCOMES WITH COMMUNITIES. Nine: Community-Driven Asset Identification and Issue Selection (Meredith Minkler and Trevor Hancock). Core Principles and Considerations. Tools for Identifying Community Resources and Concerns. Issue Selection in CBPR. When Preexisting Goals Constrain Issue Selection. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Ten: Using Web-Based Tools to Build Capacity for CBPR: Two Case Studies of American Indian Leadership Development (Marita Jones, Shelley Frazier, Chris Percy, Jeffrey L. Stowell, Kristine Maltrud, and Nina Wallerstein). Introduction to Case Studies. Case 1: Healthy Native Communities Fellowship. Case 2: Just Move It. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Eleven: Using Photovoice for Participatory Assessment and Issue Selection: Lessons from a Family, Maternal and Child Health Department (Caroline C. Wang and Cheri A. Pies). Background and Conceptual Framework. Community Assessment. A Photovoice Case Study from a County Health Department. Reflecting on Value Added. Recommendations and Implications. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Twelve: Issues in Participatory Evaluation (Jane Springett and Nina Wallerstein). What Is Evaluation? What Is Participatory Evaluation? Use of PE in Community Health. PE Issues in Community Health Promotion. Youth Link Case Study. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. PART FOUR: METHODOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING AND CONDUCTING COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH. Thirteen: Issues and Choice Points for Improving the Quality of Action Research (Hilary Bradbury and Peter Reason). Broadening the Bandwidth of Validity. Toward a Participatory Worldview. Choice Points for Action Research. Emergent Inquiry Toward Enduring Consequence. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Fourteen: Impacts of CBPR on Academic Researchers, Research Quality and Methodology, and Power Relations (Meredith Minkler and Andrea Corage Baden). Methods. Impacts of CBPR on Methodology and Processes. Impacts on Research Quality. Impacts on Power Relations. Discussion. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Fifteen: Methodological and Ethical Considerations in Community-Driven Environmental Justice Research: Two Case Studies from Rural North Carolina (Stephanie Ann Farquhar and Steve Wing). Eastern North Carolina Snapshot. Case 1: Industrialized Hog Production. Case 2: Discrimination in Disaster Relief. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Sixteen: Analyzing and Interpreting Data with Communities (Suzanne B. Cashman, Alex J. Allen III, Jason Corburn, Barbara A. Israel, Jaime Monta~no, Scott D. Rhodes, Samara F. Swanston, and Eugenia Eng). Case 1: Survey Data from the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership. Case 2.: Focus Group Data from a Latino Men's Soccer League. Case 3: Mapping Data in the Watchperson Project and El Puente. Lessons Learned. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. PART FIVE: USING COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH TO PROMOTE SOCIAL CHANGE AND HEALTHY PUBLIC POLICY. Seventeen: The Role of Community-Based Participatory Research in Policy Advocacy (Makani Themba-Nixon, Meredith Minkler, and Nicholas Freudenberg). The Policy-Making Process. Defining and Framing a Policy Goal. Selecting a Policy Approach. Identifying a Target. Support, Power, and Opposition. Policy Process Stages and CBPR Opportunities. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Eighteen: Using CBPR to Promote Environmental Justice Policy: A Case Study from Harlem, New York (Peggy Shepard, Victoria Breckwich Vasquez, and Meredith Minkler). Case Background. Research Methods, Roles, and Findings. Discussion. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Nineteen: Participatory Action Research with Hotel Room Cleaners in San Francisco and Las Vegas: From Collaborative Study to the Bargaining Table (Pam Tau Lee, Niklas Krause, Charles Goetchius, Jo Marie Agresti, and Robin Baker). Theoretical Framework. Research Partners' Roles and Concerns. Defining Topics and Enhancing Participation. Designing and Pilot-Testing the Survey. Selecting the Sample Populations. Planning Outreach and Logistics. Analyzing the Data. Study Findings Translating Findings into Action. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Twenty: Addressing Food Security Through Policy Promoting Store Conversions: The Role of a CBPR Partnership (Victoria Breckwich Vasquez, Dana Lanza, Susana Hennessey Lavery, Shelley Facente, Helen Ann Halpin, and Meredith Minkler). Food Insecurity. The CBPR Partnership. LEJ Partnership's Policy Steps. Local Policy-Related Outcomes. Summary. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. PART SIX: NEXT STEPS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH. Twenty-One: What Predicts Outcomes in Community-Based Participatory Research (Nina Wallerstein, John Oetzel, Bonnie Duran, Greg Tafoya, Lorenda Belone, and Rebecca Rae). Study Background. Literature Search. Assessing Dimensions of Participation and Partnership. Final Model Relationships Between Dimensions. Measurement Issues. Summary and Implications for Future Research. Questions for Discussion. Key Terms. Appendix A: A Protocol for Community-Based Research (Leland Brown and William A. Vega). Appendix B: Federal Funding and Support for Participatory Research in Public Health and Health Care (Shawna L. Mercer and Lawrence W. Green). Appendix C: Reliability-Tested Guidelines for Assessing Participatory Research Projects (Shawna L. Mercer, Lawrence W. Green, Margaret Cargo, Margaret A. Potter, Mark Daniel, R. Scott Olds, and Erika Reed-Gross). Appendix D: Using the Community Tool Box Online Documentation System to Support Participatory Evaluation of Community Health Initiatives (Stephen Fawcett and Jerry Schultz). Appendix E: Making the Best Case for Community-Engaged Scholarship in Promotion and Tenure Review (Sarena D. Seifer). Appendix F: Community Partnership Through a Nursing Lens (Jennifer Averill). Appendix G: Ethical Review of Community-Based Participatory Research: Considerations for Institutional Review Boards (Sarah Flicker, Robb Travers, Adrian Guta, Sean McDonald, and Aileen Meagher). Appendix H: Research Policies, Processes, and Protocol: The Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board (Beverly Becenti-Pigman, Kalvin White, Bea Bowman, Nancy "Lynn" Palmanteer-Holder, and Bonnie Duran). Appendix I: Undoing Racism Training as a Foundation for Team Building in CBPR (Robert E. Aronson, Michael A. Yonas, Nora Jones, Nettie Coad, and Eugenia Eng). Appendix J: Risk Mapping as a Tool for Community-Based Participatory Research and Organizing (Marianne P. Brown). Appendix K: Using CBPR to Promote Policy Change: Exercises and Online Resources (Cassandra Ritas, Meredith Minkler, Angela Ni, and Helen Ann Halpin). Appendix L: Selected Centers and Other Resources for Participatory Research in North America (Meredith Minkler, Nina Wallerstein, Angela Ni, and Rosanna Tran).
1,589 citations