In this article the literature on psychosocial assistance to children in war-affected areas is reviewed. Two main types of interventions are identified: the curative approach and the developmental approach. The effectiveness of each of these approaches is discussed.

This article is based on the experiences of a recent pilot project to develop a participatory approach to the monitoring and evaluating of psychosocial interventions with children affected by armed conflict. It presents the conceptual framework and the principles that underpinned the testing of tools within programmes in eastern Sri Lanka. Some of the main challenges encountered while utilizing these tools are discussed, along with the value of the data generated and the implications of using participatory methodologies for planning, monitoring and evaluation.

This article presents the methodology and results of a study on the effectiveness of two psychosocial interventions targeting female victims of war-related and sexual violence in Liberia. One intervention provided counselling, the other offered support groups and skill training. Qualitative research suggests that the participants of both interventions were positive with regard to the help provided. Quantitative analyses revealed that counselling was effective in reducing trauma symptoms as compared to the support and skill training and to a waiting list control group. Taking into account the number of women with a high post traumatic stress disorder score, both interventions were effective compared to the control group.

In order to offer psychosocial support for children and adolescents in the Darfur refugee camps, UNICEF established a large number of so-called Child Friendly Spaces. This article describes a training for model animators, who later gave an on-the-job training to the animators in the facilities. This had a substantial effect on the quality of the support the animators offered to the children.

After the Madrid March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks, the interplay of politicians, journalists and academicians created an atmosphere of collective trauma. The authors analysed data related to these attacks in a sample of the population of Madrid (N = 503) 18-25 days after the attacks. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was systematically assessed on the basis of a self-administered interview. The data, however, shows that there is no scientific evidence at all for collective traumatization, or an epidemic of PTSD. The incidence of PTSD ranged from what can be expected as a normal prevalence in general population in Spain under non-traumatic conditions to values that, when applied to the general population, could be considered a dramatic epidemic of PTSD. These results demonstrate that inferences about the impact of traumatic events on the general population largely depend on the measure, definition and criteria used by the researcher. Slightly changing the criteria for PTSD makes an enormous difference to the amount of traumatization that is found. This may help to explain divergent and conflicting messages coming from the so-called population-based epidemiological studies on PTSD. The implications for public health policies related to collective traumatic events are discussed in relation to these results.