How war affects children's mental health across generations and how families can help
Official title: Social and Biological Mechanisms Driving the Intergenerational Impact of War on Child Mental Health: Implications for Developing Family-Based Interventions
Funded at Boston College · NIH-11503592 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The team is looking at how parents' experiences of war in Sierra Leone influence their children's emotions and behavior to guide family-focused support.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chestnut Hill, United States) |
| Project start | February 10, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $39,547 |
| NIH project number | 3R01MH128928-05S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11503592 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are war-affected adults from the Sierra Leone cohort (including former child soldiers), their intimate partners, and their biological children.
✕Less likely to help
People without a history of war-related trauma, those outside Sierra Leone, or those not part of the study families would not directly benefit from participating.
What this research studies
This long-term project follows people who experienced war as children in Sierra Leone and now tracks their adult lives, partners, and offspring. Researchers collect interviews about mood, behavior, and family relationships, along with measures of stress response and biological markers. They link these social and biological data to understand how trauma may be passed to the next generation and what family factors protect or worsen child mental health. The findings will be used to design family-based supports that fit local communities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to family-centered programs that reduce mental health problems in children of war-affected parents.
How similar studies have gone: Previous follow-up of this cohort showed links between childhood war trauma and adult mental health, but adding biological measures and using that knowledge to develop family interventions is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Betancourt, Theresa Stichick — Boston College
- Study coordinator: Betancourt, Theresa Stichick
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.