Anxiety and depression symptoms in former child soldiers in correlation to the role they had in Bab Al Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen armed conflict, Lebanon

Abstract

In 2011, a four year-long war consisting of recurring battles started between two adjacent neighborhoods of the second largest Lebanese city, Tripoli. The tension between the Bab Al Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods was based on religious and political differences evolving into an armed conflict between 2011 and 2015 and requiring the recruitment of children and assigning roles to them. As the literature shows long-term mental health effects of recruitment in war on former child soldiers, this study aims at exploring the anxiety and depression symptoms of Bab Al Tabbaneh’s former child soldiers in respect to the roles assigned. Our study is a cross-sectional study of 13 participants who were between 8 and 14 years old when they were recruited as either fighters, human shields, weaponry replenishers, or food distributors. The participants answered the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 questionnaires assessing their depression and anxiety symptoms respectively. Although symptoms presence and frequency were heterogeneous, a multiple regression analysis showed a positive significant relationship between the role and the Nervousness symptom. In the semi-structured interviews with the participants’ psychologist, we found that the length of exposure to life threatening conditions, the probability of inflicting harm on others, the responsibility of changing the outcome of the war, the legality of the role, The self-concept before and after recruitment, and the ease of social relationship were all characteristics of the role that affected the long-term mental health of the child soldiers. In conclusion, despite the limited number of participants, the role the child soldier took had a significant difference on the Nervousness level they currently experience. As Bab Al Tabbaneh is a zone with a high risk of conflict, this study is a good starting point for understanding the psychological effects of recruitment on Bab Al Tabbaneh child soldiers’ population and enhancing the psychological interventions done by Nongovernmental Organizations to aim for a healthier reintegration in the society.