Trajectories of psychological symptoms and resilience in conflict-affected children in low- and middle-income countries

Longitudinal studies on children’s and adolescents’ psychological reactions to conflict-related traumatic events in low- and middle-income countries are scarce. The present study aimed to analyze children’s and adolescents’ responses to conflict-related potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and the impact of the number of different types of PTEs on psychological symptoms and resilience over time. We investigated the presence of psychological symptoms and resilience, defined as low levels of symptoms and high levels of hope, in a sample of 597 conflict- affected children and adolescents allocated to a waiting list condition in four randomized trials conducted in Burundi, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. A decrease in functional impairment (p <0.001), symptoms of PTSD (p <0.001), anxiety (p <0.001), depression (p =0.052), and an increase in social support (p