Abstract

People who live in war zones are more likely to develop a wide range of mental disorders. These disorders in children may be caused in part by the negative effects of parental mental illness rather than by direct war trauma exposure alone. As a result, a parent in good mental health can assist a child’s adjustment to adversity, whereas a child raised by a parent or parents suffering from mental illness is more likely to develop a variety of emotional and behavioural issues due to disruption in the normal interactive patterns between a parent and a child. This study investigates the relationship between parental mental health and their children’s behavioural problems in the aftermath of armed attacks on Dong and Kikan in north-eastern Nigeria. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study with 149 eligible primary school pupils from a non-conventional school established by Partners West Africa Nigeria, selected through a consecutive sampling method. Each child’s parent or caregiver was also interviewed.The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess children’s difficulties, while the Harvard Traumatic Questionnaire (HTQ) and Civilian Symptoms Checklist (SCL) were used to assess Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, respectively. Except for the conduct subscale, all behavioural problems were significantly more common in children of parents suffering from PTSD, anxiety, or depression. Parental mental illness was found to be positively related to all domains of children’s behavioural problems. These findings suggest that parents and children living in a war zone are at high risk of developing mental disorders, and children of parents with mental illness are more likely to develop behavioural symptoms.