The Mental Health of Caregivers and Young Children in Conflict-Affected Settings

Abstract

We analyze the effects of conflict-related violence on the mental health of caregivers and young children, as well as the role of caregivers' mental health in explaining the toll of conflict on early childhood mental health. Although an upcoming body of work has demonstrated the link between caregivers' and children's mental health, the role of caregivers' psychological constraints has been largely ignored in research and programming in conflict-affected settings. We demonstrate how these constraints play a role in the intergenerational transmission of mental health problems and emphasize the urgency of addressing caregivers' mental health within early childhood development programs in conflict-affected settings.