Citation

Hall BJ, Tol WA, Jordans MJ, Bass J, de Jong JT. Soc. Sci. Med. (1982) 2014; 114: 121-128.

Affiliation

Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Boston University School of Medicine, 72 E Concord St, Boston, MA 02118, USA; Cultural and International Psychiatry VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Rhodes University, Drosty Rd, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.042

PMID

24922609

PMCID

PMC4082029

Abstract

Little is known about the role of cognitive social capital among war-affected youth in low- and middle-income countries. We examined the longitudinal association between cognitive social capital and mental health (depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms), functioning, and received social support of children in Burundi. Data were obtained from face-to-face interviews with 176 children over three measurement occasions over the span of 4-months. Cognitive social capital measured the degree to which children believed their community was trustworthy and cohesive. Mental health measures included the Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS) (Birleson, 1981), the Child Posttraumatic Symptom Scale (Foa et al., 2001), and a locally constructed scale of functional impairment. Children reported received social support by listing whether they received different types of social support from self-selected key individuals. Cross-lagged path analytic modeling evaluated relationships between cognitive social capital, symptoms and received support separately over baseline (T1), 6-week follow-up (T2), and 4-month follow-up (T3). Each concept was treated and analyzed as a continuous score using manifest indicators. Significant associations between study variables were unidirectional. Cognitive social capital was associated with decreased depression between T1 and T2 (B = -.22, p < .001) and T2 and T3 (β = -.25, p < .001), and with functional impairment between T1 and T2 (β = -.15, p = .005) and T2 and T3 (β = -.14, p = .005); no association was found for PTSD symptoms at either time point. Cognitive social capital was associated with increased social support between T1 and T2 (β = .16, p = .002) and T2 and T3 (β = .16, p = .002). In this longitudinal study, cognitive social capital was related to a declining trajectory of children's mental health problems and increases in social support. Interventions that improve community relations in war-affected communities may alter the trajectories of resource loss and gain with conflict-affected children.

Language: en