Articles

Influence of reconciliation programmes on the reconciliation attitudes of war-affected adolescents in Northern Uganda

Authors
  • Benjamin Alipanga
  • Maarten De Schryver
  • Stella Neema
  • Eric Broekaert
  • Ilse Derluyn

Abstract

Whether post-conflict reconciliation programmes are able to change hostile behaviours is not known. This study sought to assess the influence of reconciliation programmes on the reconciliation attitudes of war-affected adolescents in two communities in Northern Uganda. Four hundred and forty five adolescents within two communities, one with and the other without interventions were assessed for exposure to war-related and daily stressors and place of residence using hierar- chical regression analysis to predict reconciliation attitudes. Adolescents in the non-intervention community recorded more positive and also more negative reconciliation attitudes; exposure to daily and war-related stressors was more positively associated with increasing reconciliation attitudes among adolescents in the non-intervention than those in the intervention community. Overall the programmes recorded limited impact on reconciliation attitudes, perhaps due to the pervasive adverse social situation of the people. Conclusion: there is a need for multi-pronged, collaborative programme efforts targeting holistic recovery programmes with focus on changing negative reconciliation attitudes.

Key words: reconciliation attitudes, reconciliation programmes, war-affected adolescents, Northern Uganda 

How to Cite:

Alipanga, B. & De Schryver, M. & Neema, S. & Broekaert, E. & Derluyn, I., (2016) “Influence of reconciliation programmes on the reconciliation attitudes of war-affected adolescents in Northern Uganda”, Afrika Focus 29(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/af.v29i1.4840

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Published on
05 Feb 2016
Peer Reviewed
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