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Measuring Mental Health in Child Soldiers—Reply
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In Reply: Dr Tsai's comments reflect a desire to hold epidemiological research in settings of political violence and human rights abuses to the highest standard. We agree with this goal because only through rigorous research can evidence-based interventions be developed with the most effective and appropriately targeted use of resources.
We share Tsai's concern regarding possible unobserved covariates associated with preexisting differences between child soldiers and never-conscripted children. Although we used matching, it is a partial solution. An alternative would be the use of propensity score matching with large sample sizes. However, we caution against researching violence and human rights solely with epidemiological approaches dependent on large samples, which could also misdirect funding in resource-poor settings and potentially overestimate disorder rates without well-funded validation studies.1
Many important questions in this field should also be explored through qualitative research to complement epidemiology.2 Our study included a longitudinal qualitative component. It suggested . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Brandon A. Kohrt, MA
brandonkohrt@gmail.com Department of Anthropology Emory University Atlanta, Georgia
Mark J. D. Jordans, MA
HealthnetTPO Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Carol M. Worthman, PhD
Department of Anthropology Emory University
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