Format
Scientific article
Publication Date
Published by / Citation
[1] L. C. Miller, M. Timouri, J. Wijnker, and J. G. Schaller, “Afghan refugee children and mothers,” Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, vol. 148, no. 7, pp. 704–708, 1994. [2] Z. Stanton, (2014). Interactive Timeline: War in Afghanistan Retrieved 25 April 2016., from http://wilsonquarterly.com/ quarterly/spring-2014-afghanistan/interactive-timeline-war-inafghanistan/. [3] B. L. Cardozo, O. O. Bilukha, C. A. Crawford et al., “Mental health, social functioning, and disability in postwar Afghanistan,” Journal of the AmericanMedical Association, vol. 292, no. 5, pp. 575–584, 2004. [4] UNICEF. (2013). Afghanistan: Statistics, from http://www .unicef.org/infobycountry/afghanistan statistics.html. [5] UNESCO. (2014). International Literacy Data 2014 Retrieved 25 April 2016, from http://www.uis.unesco.org/ literacy/Pages/literacy-data-release-2014.aspx. [6] UNODC. (2010). Drug Use in Afghanistan: 2009 Survey Retrieved 26 April 2016, from https://www .unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Afghan
Original Language

English

Country
Afghanistan
Keywords
children
intervention
drug prevention
psychoactive substances
Afghanistan

Implementation & Evaluation of an Intervention for Children in Afghanistan

The present study examined the impact of a novel intervention for children at risk for substance use or actively using substances that was provided to 783 children between 4 and 18 years of age in Afghanistan. They received the Child Intervention for Living Drug-free (CHILD) protocol while in outpatient or residential treatment. CHILD included age-appropriate literacy and numeracy, drug education, basic living safety, and communication and trauma coping skills.

A battery of measures examined multiple child health domains at treatment’s start and end and 12 weeks later. For younger children, there were no significant Gender or Gender X Time effects (all p’s > .16 and .35, resp.).The time main effect was significant for all outcomes (all p’s < .00192, the prespecified per-comparison error rate). Post hoc testing showed significant improvements from residential treatment entry to completion for all scales. For older children, a time main effect was significant for (all p’s < .00192, the prespecified per-comparison error rate) all but one outcome. Community follow-up means were significantly lower than residential treatment entry means. CHILD had a positive impact on children, and treatment impact endured from posttreatment to follow-up assessment.