PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND SOCIAL REINTEGRATION OF CHILD EX-SOLDIERS IN SIERRA LEONE Wave II Follow-Up Analysis

Executive Summary: This report presents initial data from a follow-up study of youth who had been associated with the RUF rebel group in Sierra Leone and were subsequently part of the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) community reintegration program following formal disarmament and demobilization in the country. Also added to this wave of data collection was a new sample of ex-RUF youth from the Makeni region that self-reintegrated without the benefit of organized support and services such as those offered by the IRC in its area of operations. These services included initial material and psychosocial assistance in Interim Care Centers, family tracing and community follow-up. The addition of the Makeni sample provides a valuable comparison between youth who received formal reintegration services contrasted with youth who spontaneously went home without any special assistance or services. This study is also unique in its ability to examine community, family and child-level variables in relationship to reintegration and psychosocial adjustment in young people returning to their home villages after their association with rebel fighting forces.