[Armed conflict and trauma: a clinical study of Latin-American refugee children].
This exploratory research on psychic consequences of armed conflicts has been carried out in Montreal on 30 latin-americans, eight to 12 year-old refugees. The principal objective was to assert the importance of traumas intensity, accumulation and age of occurrence on the level and type of symptomatology (introversion-extroversion). Using two types of methodologies, clinical scales and in a more exploratory way, projective instruments to study the intra-psychic dynamic underlying the symptomatology observed. The children were classified according to trauma intensity and for this purpose, a trauma scale was defined with latin-american informants. ACHENBACH and DOMINIQUE clinical evaluation scales were applied to the measure of clinical symptomatology. These instruments were analysed as a function of the symptoms intensity and type. Among results, the accumulation and intensity of traumas were found to be in significant correlation with anxio-depressive symptoms, as reported by the children with interiorization symptoms in ACHENBACH. The predominance of interiorization is discussed. The analysis of the TAT, based on objective indicators, brought out a light frequency of violent themes in relations with the clinical symptomatology. This research indicates the relevance of projective instruments to the study of traumatic response.
Unité de recherche psychosociale, Centre de recherche de l'hôpital Douglas, Verdun, Québec.
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Rousseau
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Corin
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Renaud
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile / Q000208:ethnology; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D004544:El Salvador / Q000208:ethnology; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007439:Introversion, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011792:Quebec; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence
Conflit armé et trauma: une étude clinique chez des enfants réfugiés latino-américains.