Communal Violence and Child Psychosocial Well-being: Qualitative Findings from Poso, Indonesia
Open accessAbstract
This exploratory study examined the health care system in relation to communal violence-related psychosocial wellbeing in Poso, Indonesia, as preparation for conducting a cluster randomized trial of a psychosocial intervention. We employed focus groups with children ( N = 9), parents ( N = 11), and teachers ( N = 8), as well as semi-structured interviews with families affected by communal violence ( N = 42), and key informants ( N = 33). An interrelated set of problems was found that included poverty, an indigenized trauma construct, morally inappropriate behavior, inter-religious tensions, and somatic problems. Participants emphasized social-ecological interactions between concerns at different systemic levels, although problems were mainly addressed through informal care by families. The programmatic and research implications of these findings are discussed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Cites
(1998) · Sage eBooks · Cited by 38,631 · see citing works
Kleinman, A. (1980) · doi:10.1525/9780520340848 · Cited by 4,945 · see citing works
Promoting child and adolescent mental health in low and middle income countries
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Nikapota, A., & Malhotra, S. (2008) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01824.x · Cited by 433 · see citing works
Pedersen, D. (2002) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00261-1 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
The psychosocial aspects of children exposed to war: practice and policy initiatives
Barenbaum, J., Ruchkin, V., & Schwab‐Stone, M. (2004) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1046/j.0021-9630.2003.00304.x · Cited by 341 · see citing works
The cultural diversity of healing: meaning, metaphor and mechanism
Kirmayer, L. J. (2004) · British Medical Bulletin · doi:10.1093/bmb/ldh006 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Susanty, D., Jordans, M. J. D., Macy, R. D., & De Jong, J. T. V. M. (2008) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.300.6.655 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Self-citationCommunity-Based Intervention Research: Coping With the “Noise” of Real Life in Study Design
Hohmann, A. A., & Shear, M. K. (2002) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.2.201 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Children Exposed to War/Terrorism
Shaw, J. A. (2003) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1023/b:ccfp.0000006291.10180.bd · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Children and mothers in war: an outcome study of a psychosocial intervention program
Dybdahl, R. (2001) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00343 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Consequences of Child Exposure to War and Terrorism
Joshi, P. T., & O’Donnell, D. A. (2003) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1023/b:ccfp.0000006294.88201.68 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
(2004) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781410610263 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Childhood, War, Refugeedom and ‘Trauma’: Three Core Questions for Mental Health Professionals
Summerfield, D. A. (2000) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/136346150003700308 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Miller, K. E., Kulkarni, M., & Kushner, H. (2006) · American Journal of Orthopsychiatry · doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.409 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Communal Violence in Poso, Central Sulawesi: Where People Eat Fish and Fish Eat People
Aragon, L. V. (2001) · Indonesia · doi:10.2307/3351481 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Children and War: Current Understandings and Future Directions
Berman, H. (2001) · Public Health Nursing · doi:10.1046/j.1525-1446.2001.00243.x · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Boothby, N., Strang, A., & Wessells, M. (2006) · Lynne Rienner Publishers eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781565493179 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Children, Childhoods, and Violence
Korbin, J. E. (2003) · Annual Review of Anthropology · doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.061002.093345 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
‘The Ghost Pushes You Down’: Sleep Paralysis-Type Panic Attacks in a Khmer Refugee Population
Hinton, D. E., Pich, V., Chhean, D., & Pollack, M. H. (2005) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461505050710 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
de Jong, J. T. V. M., & van Ommeren, M. (2002) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/136346150203900402 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Mother-Child Expression of Psychological Distress in War Trauma
Qouta, S., Punamäki, R., & Sarraj, E. E. (2005) · Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1359104505051208 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Laor, N., Wolmer, L., Alon, M., Siev, J., Samuel, E., & Toren, P. (2006) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/01.nmd.0000207364.68064.dc · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Public Mental Health, Traumatic Stress and Human Rights Violations in Low-Income Countries
Joop, T. V., & Jong, M. (2006) · Kluwer Academic Publishers eBooks · doi:10.1007/0-306-47675-4_1 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
The black box in somatization: Unexplained physical symptoms, culture, and narratives of trauma
Waitzkin, H. B., & Magaña, H. A. (1997) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00422-4 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Stichick, T. L. (2001) · PubMed · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Ethnocultural aspects of PTSD: Some closing thoughts.
Marsella, A. J., Friedman, M. J., Gerrity, E. T., & Scurfield, R. M. (1996) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10555-022 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Commentary: Deconstructing Critiques on the Internationalization of PTSD
de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2005) · Culture Medicine and Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s11013-005-9172-7 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
The Psychosocial Impact of Armed Conflict on Children
Stichick, T. L. (2001) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s1056-4993(18)30031-2 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Jordans, M. J. D., Susanty, D., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2011) · International Journal for Quality in Health Care · doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzr032 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Self-citationPosttraumatic Politics: Violence, Memory, and Biomedical Discourse in Bali
Dwyer, L., & Santikarma, D. (2007) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511500008.025 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Wexler, I. D., Branski, D., & Kerem, E. (2006) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.296.5.579 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Betancourt, T. S., Meyers-Ohki, S. E., Charrow, A. P., & Tol, W. A. (2013) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/hrp.0b013e318283bf8f · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Self-citationTOL, W. A., KOMPROE, I. H., JORDANS, M. J. D., VALLIPURAM, A., SIPSMA, H., SIVAYOKAN, S., MACY, R. D., & DE JONG, J. T. (2012) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.05.008 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Self-citationTol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Jordans, M. J., Ndayisaba, A., Ntamutumba, P., Sipsma, H., Smallegange, E. S., Macy, R. D., & de Jong, J. T. (2014) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/1741-7015-12-56 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Self-citationKane, J. C., Ventevogel, P., Spiegel, P., Bass, J. K., van Ommeren, M., & Tol, W. A. (2014) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-014-0228-9 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Self-citationMediators and moderators of a psychosocial intervention for children affected by political violence.
Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Jordans, M. J. D., Gross, A. L., Susanty, D., Macy, R. D., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2010) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0021348 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Self-citationDoes poverty reduce mental health? An instrumental variable analysis
Hanandita, W., & Tampubolon, G. (2014) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.005 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Rasmussen, A., Keatley, E., & Joscelyne, A. (2014) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.015 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Thomas, F. C., Roberts, B., Luitel, N. P., Upadhaya, N., & Tol, W. A. (2011) · Conflict and Health · doi:10.1186/1752-1505-5-20 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Self-citationDevelopment of a multi-layered psychosocial care system for children in areas of political violence
Jordans, M. J. D., Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Susanty, D., Vallipuram, A., Ntamatumba, P., Lasuba, A. C., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2010) · International Journal of Mental Health Systems · doi:10.1186/1752-4458-4-15 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Self-citationJordans, M. J. D., Tol, W. A., Susanty, D., Ntamatumba, P., Luitel, N. P., Komproe, I. H., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2013) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001371 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationVeronese, G., Castiglioni, M., Barola, G., & Said, M. (2011) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.10.002 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Tol, W. A., Rees, S. J., & Silove, D. M. (2013) · Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · doi:10.1017/s2045796013000188 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Self-citationHaroz, E. E., Jordans, M. J. D., de Jong, J. T. V. M., Gross, A. L., Bass, J., & Tol, W. A. (2015) · Assessment · doi:10.1177/1073191115612924 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationJordans, M. J. D., Komproe, I. H., Tol, W. A., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2009) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02028.x · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citationTol, W. A., Jordans, M. J. D., Kohrt, B. A., Betancourt, T. S., & Komproe, I. H. (2013) · Handbook of Resilience in Children of War · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6375-7_2 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citationTol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Jordans, M. J. D., Susanty, D., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2011) · International Journal for Quality in Health Care · doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzr032 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Self-citationReis, R. (2013) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461513503880 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Self-citationMurphy, A., Chikovani, I., Uchaneishvili, M., Makhashvili, N., & Roberts, B. (2018) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3113-y · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Veronese, G., & Castiglioni, M. (2013) · Childhood · doi:10.1177/0907568213512692 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Family quality of life and child psychological well-being in Palestine: A pilot case study
Veronese, G., Fiore, F., Castiglioni, M., & Natour, M. (2014) · Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1177/1468017314549690 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Challenges of creating synergy between global mental health and cultural psychiatry
de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2014) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461514557995 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Aile İçi Şiddetin Çocuk Üzerindeki Etkileri ve Psikososyal Desteğin Önemi
Lök, N., Başoğul, C., & Öncel, S. (2016) · Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry · doi:10.18863/pgy.05252 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Ventevogel, P. (2015) · Intervention · doi:10.1097/wtf.0000000000000100 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Why art matters for youth mental health: A youth led participatory insight analysisPreprint
Easwaran, K., Narasimhan, L. S., Japee, Y., Raja, T., Murali, A., & Easwaran, D. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/ap476 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Thomas, F. C., Tol, W. A., Vallipuram, A., Sivayokan, S., Jordans, M. J. D., Reis, R., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2016) · Peace and Conflict Journal of Peace Psychology · doi:10.1037/pac0000172 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationHarder, V. S., Mutiso, V., Khasakhala, L. I., Burke, H. M., Rettew, D. C., Ivanova, M. Y., & Ndetei, D. M. (2014) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-014-9419-0 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Family interventions and armed conflict
de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-815493-9.00015-6 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Tol, W. A., Jordans, M. J. D., Kohrt, B. A., Betancourt, T. S., & Komproe, I. H. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6375-7_3 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationNarratives of Agency and Capability from Two Adolescent Girls in Post-conflict Liberia
Levey, E. J., Laird, L. D., Becker, A. E., Harris, B. L., Lekpeh, G. G., Oppenheim, C. E., Henderson, D. C., & Borba, C. P. C. (2018) · Culture Medicine and Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s11013-018-9599-2 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Percy, C. A., Chen, Y., Bibi, A., Coles-Jordan, D., Dodson, E., Evans, T. R., Klingberg, D., & van der Bruggen, M. (2011) · WIT transactions on the built environment · doi:10.2495/dman110181 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Is everyone traumatized? Perspectives from an Indonesian convent
Donnelly, M. R. (2024) · Ethos · doi:10.1111/etho.12433 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Thomas, F. C., Roberts, B., Luitel, N. P., Upadhaya, N., & Tol, W. A. (2022) · doi:10.32920/21424596.v1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationExploring Psychosocial Well-being and Social Connectedness in Northern Uganda
Horn, R. (2013) · World Bank, Washington, DC eBooks · doi:10.1596/17861 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Hanratty, J., Neeson, L., Bosqui, T. J., Duffy, M., Dunne, L., & Connolly, P. (2019) · Campbell Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/cl2.1056 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mullick, P. D. (2019) · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · doi:10.22214/ijraset.2019.7056 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Thomas, F. C., Roberts, B., Luitel, N. P., Upadhaya, N., & Tol, W. A. (2022) · doi:10.32920/21424596 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationTHE MEANING AND APPROACHES OF VULNERABILITIES IN DISASTER STUDIES: AN OVERVIEW
Mullick, P. D., Das, A. K., & Chaudhuri, A. (2015) · International Journal of Social Science and Interdisciplinary Research
Examining Teaching Activities in War-affected Schools: Advancing Transformative Praxis
Handy, G. (2018) · KU ScholarWorks (The University of Kansas)
PRELIMINARY INSIGHTS ON THE ACEHNESE DAILY STRESSORS IN CONFLICT AFFECTED AREA
Hamid, F. H., & Ednadita, G. (2020) · Journal of Educational Health and Community Psychology · doi:10.12928/jehcp.v9i1.12716
Terrorism Risk Assessment to Children: A Study in Poso
Sukabdi, Z. A. (2021) · Journal of Psychology and Behavior Studies · doi:10.32996/jpbs.2021.1.1.7
Creative Engagement and Positive School Psychology
Meehan, T. (2024) · Advances in mental health and addiction · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-54295-4_6
Safaria, T., & Dewi, I. G. A. A. N. (2026) · Geopsychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.geopsy.2026.100089
Strengthening global mental health research through engagement with structural injustice theories
Tol, W. A., Bidoli, A., Castaner, M. M., Nucci, E. D., Evangelidou, S., Weme, D. N., Pavagadhi, D., Peters, R. M. H., Sørensen, J. B., & Upadhaya, N. (2026) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2026.10293
Self-citation
- Authors
- Tol, W. A., Reis, R., Susanty, D., & de Jong, J. T. V. M.
- Affiliations
- HealthNet TPO (NL)
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Church World Service (US)
- VU University Medical Center Amsterdam,
- Corresponding author
- Tol, Wietse A.
- Reis, Ria
- Susanty, Dessy
- Venue
- Transcultural Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-02
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 112-135
- ISSN
- 1363-4615 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7471
- OpenAlex
- W2164244854
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 5.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Transcultural Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Keywords
- communal violence, Poso conflict, interreligious tensions, trauma, poverty, somatic symptoms, informal care, socio-ecological model, health care system, psychosocial interventions
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Behavior Disorders, Child Welfare, Child, Preschool, Conflict, Psychological, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Fear, Female, Humans, Indonesia, Islam, Male, Medicine, Traditional, Politics, Poverty, Prejudice, Religion and Psychology, Social Environment, Social Problems, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Violence, Warfare, Focus Groups, Moral Development
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review